Brad Dean donated a kidney altruistically as part of a four-way kidney transplant at Duke University Medical Center in 2011. The document outlines the procedure for kidney donation, including health evaluations, pre-surgery preparations like lab work and meetings, laparoscopic surgery that takes 2-3 hours, post-surgery recovery in the hospital for 1-2 days, and follow up exams and return to regular activities within a few weeks.

1. Brad Dean: The Surgery
Procedure for Kidney Donors

2. QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
 After observing how two close friends restored
their health after receiving organ transplants,
Brad Dean of Myrtle Beach decided to become
a kidney donor in their honor.
 Although most individuals who donate a kidney
do so for a family member or friend, Mr. Dean
donated altruistically to someone he had never
met.
 He participated in a four-way kidney transplant,
the first of its kind at
Duke University Medical Center, in December
2011.

3.  After donor candidates successfully complete a
health evaluation that confirms good health, the
transplant team schedules a date for surgery.
 A few days before the transplant, the kidney
donor undergoes additional lab work at the
hospital and meets with personnel who provide
instructions on how to prepare for the surgery.

4.  After completing the admissions process, the
donor is wheeled to the operating room where
the anesthesiologist begins intravenous
administration of sedation medicine.
 Once asleep, a staff member places a breathing
tube for general anesthesia that connects to a
medical ventilator.
 The placement of a urinary catheter into the
bladder completes the presurgery preparation.

5.  Most surgeons use minimally invasive
techniques to remove a kidney, although in
some cases, they may elect to perform open
surgery.
 Laproscopic surgery generally takes two to
three hours.
 In this procedure, the surgeons make small
incisions in the abdomen and insert laproscopic
instruments, which contain small cameras that
guide the procedure.

6.  Following surgery, a nurse will closely monitor
the donor’s vital signs in the recovery room.
 When patients are back in their room, the
medical staff encourages them to start walking
several hours after surgery.
 Barring any complications, the donor is typically
released from the hospital in one to two days.
 One to two weeks after surgery, the donor will
see the surgeon for a postoperative exam.
 Many donors receive clearances to return to
work within a two- to three-week period, unless
their jobs require heavy physical demands.

7.  Following surgery, a nurse will closely monitor
the donor’s vital signs in the recovery room.
 When patients are back in their room, the
medical staff encourages them to start walking
several hours after surgery.
 Barring any complications, the donor is typically
released from the hospital in one to two days.
 One to two weeks after surgery, the donor will
see the surgeon for a postoperative exam.
 Many donors receive clearances to return to
work within a two- to three-week period, unless
their jobs require heavy physical demands.