A kidney transplant places a healthy kidney from a donor into a person whose own kidneys have failed. For suitable patients it offers a longer life and better quality of life than dialysis. In Türkiye most transplants use a kidney from a living donor.
Turkish law permits living donation only from relatives up to the fourth degree, including relatives by marriage, or, for unrelated donors, after approval by an official ethics committee that checks for any payment or pressure. International patients must bring their own eligible donor. Donors are not arranged or found for patients, and buying or selling organs is a crime. A transplant is a treatment, not a cure: anti-rejection medicines are taken for as long as the kidney works.
What Kidney Transplant involves
Recipient and donor are assessed separately over 1 to 2 weeks. Tests include blood group, tissue typing and crossmatch, screening for infections and cancer, heart assessment, and for the donor a CT angiogram and precise measurement of kidney function. Documents proving the family relationship are verified and the case is reviewed by the transplant council or ethics committee. The donor's kidney is removed by laparoscopic surgery. In the recipient, the new kidney is placed in the lower abdomen through a cut in the groin area, its artery and vein are joined to the pelvic vessels and its ureter to the bladder over a temporary stent. The patient's own kidneys are usually left in place. Anti-rejection treatment begins at the time of surgery.
Who is a good candidate for Kidney Transplant?
Assessment decides whether transplantation is safe for both people. Donor safety comes first.
- People with end-stage kidney disease on dialysis or approaching it (pre-emptive transplant)
- Recipients whose heart, lungs and general condition can withstand surgery and immunosuppression
- Those with a willing, healthy, legally eligible relative as donor
- Blood group compatible pairs, or incompatible pairs in centres offering desensitisation or paired exchange
- People able to take medicines reliably and attend lifelong follow-up
It is usually not the right choice if:
- Active infection or a recently treated cancer, until a safe waiting period has passed
- Severe heart or vascular disease that makes surgery too dangerous
- Ongoing substance misuse or inability to follow treatment
- Anyone without a genuine, legally eligible living donor
- Donors with diabetes, poorly controlled blood pressure, reduced kidney function or significant obesity
- Patients with no nephrologist at home ready to take over follow-up
Technique options
- Living related donor transplant: The usual route for international patients. Kidneys from living donors last longer on average than those from deceased donors.
- Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy: Keyhole removal of the donor kidney, with a faster recovery for the donor.
- ABO-incompatible transplant: Antibody removal and extra immunosuppression allow transplantation across blood groups in selected pairs, with added risk.
- Paired kidney exchange: Two or more incompatible pairs swap donors, subject to legal approval.
- Deceased donor transplant: Organs are allocated through the national waiting list to residents. It is not a realistic option for visiting patients.
What happens during your treatment
The recipient operation takes 3 to 4 hours and the donor operation 2 to 3 hours, both under general anaesthesia, in adjoining theatres. The recipient wakes with a urinary catheter, a drain and close monitoring of urine output. A living donor kidney often starts producing urine at once. Blood tests are taken daily to follow kidney function and drug levels.
Preparing for your trip
Plan for 5 to 8 weeks including assessment in Istanbul. Your surgeon reviews photographs and your medical history before you book, and you meet in person the day before surgery for examination, marking and consent with a professional interpreter.
- Stop smoking and nicotine at least four weeks before and after surgery; it is the single biggest avoidable cause of wound problems
- Tell the team about every medicine and supplement you take; blood thinners, some herbal products and hormone treatment may need to be paused on your doctor's advice
- Arrange for someone to travel with you or to be reachable, and keep the first days at home free of work and lifting
- Book a changeable return flight; your surgeon confirms when you are fit to fly
Recovery and results
Donors usually leave hospital after 2 to 4 days and return to normal activity in 4 to 6 weeks. Recipients stay 7 to 10 days. The ureteric stent is removed at 3 to 6 weeks. The first 3 months carry the highest risk of rejection and infection, with blood tests twice weekly at first, so recipients are usually asked to remain in Istanbul for 4 to 6 weeks. After that, a nephrologist at home takes over for life. Donors need a yearly check of blood pressure, urine and kidney function.
- Back to everyday activity: 6 to 8 weeks
- When results show: Kidney function usually improves within days
- How long they last: Often 15 to 20 years for a living donor kidney, with lifelong medication
Safety, risks and revision policy
Transplantation carries surgical risks and the long-term risks of immunosuppression. Donors accept a small risk with no medical benefit to themselves.
- Acute rejection, most often in the first months and usually treatable when caught early
- Infections including urinary infection, CMV and BK virus
- Blood clots in the kidney vessels, urine leak or narrowing of the ureter
- Delayed function of the new kidney needing temporary dialysis
- Higher long-term rates of skin cancer and some other cancers
- Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and bone thinning from medication
- Gradual loss of the transplant over years; living donor kidneys last around 15 to 20 years on average
- For the donor: surgical risks, a death risk of about 3 in 10,000, and a slightly raised lifetime risk of kidney failure
Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.
Cost of Kidney Transplant in Türkiye
Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for Kidney Transplant, because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:
- Evaluation of both recipient and donor
- Blood group or tissue incompatibility requiring desensitisation
- Length of hospital and intensive care stay for two people
- Immunosuppressive medicines, which continue lifelong at home and must be budgeted for
- Accommodation for 4 to 6 weeks and treatment of any complications
Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a donor be found for me in Türkiye?
No. You must come with your own donor who is a relative within the fourth degree or who is approved by the ethics committee. Any offer to provide a donor for payment is illegal and dangerous.
What documents are needed?
Official proof of the family relationship, such as birth and marriage certificates, translated and legalised, plus identity documents. The hospital's transplant coordinator will give you the list.
Can my spouse donate?
Spouses can be donors. Turkish rules typically require the marriage to have lasted a minimum period, and the ethics review applies.
What happens when I go home?
You need a transplant nephrologist who agrees in advance to follow you, monitor drug levels and manage complications. Confirm that your medicines are available and affordable where you live.
Is life with one kidney safe for the donor?
For carefully screened donors, life expectancy is normal. They should keep a healthy weight and blood pressure and have a yearly check.