Kidney (renal) transplantation is a clinical treatment for renal failure that is offered by the Surgical Referral Service of the PetCare Veterinary Hospital. The goal of renal transplantation is to provide good quality of life for a cat or dog that would otherwise be unable to survive.

Renal transplantation is performed on cats and dogs that are in chronic renal failure and are losing weight and/or becoming anemic in spite of medical management. Transplantation is rarely performed on an emergency basis and never as a “last ditch” effort. It is important that all potential candidates be medically stable, good anesthetic candidates and in good body condition.

There is no age restriction for transplantation. Presently, the success rate for long-term survival for cats (> 1 year) is approximately 80%. This means that 1 in 5 cats (20%) may die in the first year following transplantation often due to inadequate immunosuppression, infection, or cancer. The one-year survival rate for dogs is approximately 50%. The longest survival time attained after renal transplantation in the cat is 14 years. The average life expectancy following transplantation in cats is 3-6 years. Owners of a transplant recipient are required to adopt the donor cat or dog and provide a life-long home. Properly managed, the donor can be expected to enjoy a normal life span.

There are multiple criteria that potential transplant recipients must fulfill before being considered as acceptable candidates. In general, although each case will be given individual consideration, all candidates must be free of any systemic disease other than renal failure. If you identify a cat or dog that may be a candidate, please have your veterinarian contact Dr. Clare Gregory at PetCare for more details and a list of tests/procedures that need to be completed prior to surgery. Please click the link below for more information.

http://www.felinecrf.com/