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Baylor Scott & White Health offers expert care for patients with kidney failure

With one of the largest kidney transplant programs in Texas and more than a 30-year history of providing organ transplant services, we recognize that kidney disease impacts your health and quality of life. If you have a diagnosis of end-stage renal disease (more commonly known as kidney failure) and don’t have any conditions that would exclude you from getting an organ transplant, you may be considered as a candidate for a kidney transplant.  Your physician will refer you to a Baylor Scott & White Health kidney transplant center for a complete evaluation that includes a series of physical examinations, diagnostic tests and educational meetings following a diagnosis of kidney failure.

It is not necessary to be on dialysis prior to transplant. Pre-dialysis candidates should have a kidney function less than or equal to​ 20% ​​​to be placed on the kidney transplant waiting list. If you are eligible for a kidney transplant and your insurer has cleared the procedure, you’ll be placed on our kidney transplant list and registered with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the national organ-donor system. 

To learn more about kidney transplant, see our patient guide: Pathway to Kidney Transplant

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Kidney transplant options

There are three potential options to consider when a kidney transplant is needed:

A kidney can be donated by a family member, friend or someone with an emotional tie to the recipient. The donor does not have to be a blood relative to donate or the same race or gender if the necessary blood and tissue typing are compatible.

You and your willing kidney donor may be eligible for the Paired Kidney Donor Program if the donor is not compatible with you. This allows them to donate their kidney to another recipient who was not compatible to their donor, but who is compatible with you. Their kidney donor would then donate to you.

DECEASED KIDNEY DONATION

Patients in need of a kidney transplant can be placed on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waiting list for a kidney donated by a deceased person who has indicated their willingness to donate. Deceased kidney donations are allocated based on several factors, including compatibility between the patient and donor and length of time on dialysis.

Getting started: patient forms

Complete the online kidney transplant application and health history forms below.

Dallas and Fort Worth

To schedule an appointment with our kidney transplant team, please call the Dallas transplant center at 214.820.2050 and the Fort Worth transplant center at 817.922.4650.

Temple

To schedule an appointment with our kidney transplant team, please call 254.724.8912.

Combined kidney and pancreas transplant

Simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplants are performed for patients with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes who qualify. The dual transplant functions better than a kidney alone because the new pancreas protects the transplanted kidney from the harmful effects of diabetes. As a result, the new kidney performs better and longer in the kidney/pancreas transplant recipient.

Many kidney/pancreas transplant recipients are free of diabetes years after their transplant and report a higher quality of life than kidney-alone patients. 

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Baylor Scott & White transplant programs

Dallas
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Visit transplant program

In North Texas, Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and Baylor Scott & White All Saints – Fort Worth make up one the busiest multi-specialty organ transplant systems in the world — the Baylor Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute.

Fort Worth
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Visit transplant program

In North Texas, Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and Baylor Scott & White All Saints – Fort Worth make up one the busiest multi-specialty organ transplant systems in the world — the Baylor Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute.

Temple
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Visit transplant program

Based at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Temple in Central Texas, our organ transplant teams focus on providing personalized care in a supportive, collaborative environment. Our patient-focused approach makes you part of the team as we work together to help you live a longer, healthier life.

We offer the following services in our Central Texas transplant program:

  • Blood stem cell transplant
  • Corneal transplant
  • Heart transplant
  • Kidney and pancreas transplant
Outreach Locations
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Find an outreach location

For people who do not live near Dallas–Fort Worth or the Temple region, we bring our experience to them.

Teams of physicians, nurses and assistants travel to outreach clinics throughout Texas to deliver world-renowned transplantation medicine to an expanding network of communities. Both initial organ transplant evaluation and post-transplant follow-up appointments are available.

Living donor kidney transplants

In a living donor kidney transplant, someone makes a decision to donate one of their kidneys. Donors can be a family member, friend or anyone who has an emotional tie to the recipient. You don’t have to be a blood relative or the same race or gender to donate as long as the necessary blood and tissue typing are compatible.

A living donor kidney transplant can also come from a paired kidney donor program if your donor is not compatible. Under this program, your donor would donate their kidney to another recipient who was not compatible with their own donor, but who is compatible with you. That recipient would get your donor’s kidney and you would get their donor’s kidney.

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Frequently asked questions about kidney transplant

 
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The waiting time for a kidney transplant can be highly variable. If you have a live donor kidney transplant, your surgery will be scheduled. If you are waiting for a deceased donor or a paired kidney donor, your wait may be difficult to predict and can range from days to years. Learn more about when you need a kidney transplant.

We do. In fact, as one of the largest organ transplant programs in the state, we have a significantly shorter waiting time than other transplant centers.

We have a financial coordinator who will help you and your family with financial-related questions or concerns regarding your organ transplant coverage.

If you have chronic kidney disease, you have two treatment options: dialysis or kidney transplant. Your nephrologist (kidney doctor) will discuss the risks and benefits of each option to determine if a kidney transplant is the best option.

People with end-stage renal (kidney) disease (ESRD), commonly called kidney failure, have two treatment options: dialysis or kidney transplantation. The decision to have a kidney transplant is one that you will make along with the advice of your nephrologist (kidney doctor).

While dialysis is a lifesaving treatment, it involves dependence on a hemodialysis machine or on peritoneal dialysis exchanges (machines that clean your blood and replace the function of your kidneys). For many people, the quality of life on these two types of dialysis is unsatisfactory. Kidney transplantation is another lifesaving option that can provide improved life and freedom from dialysis.

A successful kidney transplant allows most patients to feel better and have an improved quality of life. Although medical supervision will continue after the kidney transplant, you will no longer be dependent upon dialysis. There may also be fewer dietary and fluid restrictions.

Transplantation has risks as well as benefits. Your body may reject the organ transplant. You may experience side effects from the medications. There are surgical risks with all surgical procedures. Your physician will discuss the risks and benefits with you.

Kidney transplantation is a procedure in which a new kidney from another person is placed into your body, taking over the work of your two failed kidneys. The new kidney can do all the work that your failing two kidneys could not. Candidates for kidney transplantation can be put on a waiting list for a healthy kidney, but some may receive a kidney from a living donor who is usually a family member or close friend of the recipient.

A number of very effective medications are available to prevent organ rejection. These medications suppress the immune system, which inhibits rejection of foreign tissue. After a kidney transplant, recipients must take medications daily for the rest of their lives and adhere to all physician instructions as this will greatly reduce the risk of organ rejection.

Most patients feel better and enjoy an improved quality of life. You’ll still need medical supervision after your kidney transplant, but you won’t be dependent on dialysis any more. You may also have fewer dietary and fluid restrictions.

Before a kidney from any donor can be used, it is tested to determine whether it matches your tissue type and blood type. This test helps reduce the likelihood that your body will reject the new kidney.

During transplant surgery, a surgeon will place the healthy donor kidney into your body. The new kidney will do the work that your failing kidneys can no longer perform. Generally, your damaged kidneys will not be removed unless they are causing problems that cannot be treated with medication.

After placing the donor kidney in your body, the surgeon will connect blood vessels from the donor kidney to arteries and veins in your body. After the ureter — the tube that carries urine to the bladder — from the donor kidney is connected to your ureter, surgeons can allow blood to flow through the new kidney, and it can begin to function. Kidney transplant surgery may take two to four hours.

  • Register to become an organ donor

    By becoming an organ donor, you could save a life. Or more. With more than 120,000 people on organ transplant waiting lists in the United States, organ donation needs are critical.

    Visit Donate Life Texas
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