Kidney transplant vs Kidney dialysis

Advantages;

• The recipient can lead a normal life.
• It is cheaper per year than dialysis.
• You do not have to be as careful with food.

Disadvantages;

• The new kidney might be rejected by your body.
• There might not be a new kidney available at the time.
• You might need to be on medication every day for the rest of your life.
• You have more of a risk of catching diseases because, to prevent rejection, some patients are given tablets called immunosupressants which lower your immune system to reduce risk of rejection.

Advantages;

• It is more widely available than transplants.
• There is no risk of rejection.

Disadvantages;

• Larger risk of infection to the actual kidney.
• It takes several hourly appointments a week which means you have to plan your life around it.
• You are hooked up to a machine which means that if you wanted to go on holiday you would need to stay somewhere where there were dialysis clinics.
• It doesn't cure the problem so you will be on dialysis the whole of your life.