Surgeon's Journey to Kidney Transplant
What happens when a transplant surgeon needs a kidney transplant? Watch as University of Maryland Medical Center kidney transplant surgeon, Dr. Silke Niederhaus, shares her story. From the challenges of finding a living donor to a new found friendship with her once anonymous donor, Dr. Niederhaus gives an inside look into her transplant journey.
Dr. Niederhaus received a new kidney through an eight person paired kidney exchange, a process where a living donor is healthy and ready to donate a kidney, but the donor's blood type is incompatible with the blood type of the intended recipient. Paired kidney exchange allows donors to "swap" with another donors' recipients.
Not all transplant centers are able to offer paired kidney exchange. This is because the procedure can be complex and requires the center to have significant transplant capabilities. At UMMC, we participate in several paired kidney exchange programs regionally and nationally, including the National Kidney Registry.