When do I need a transplant if I haven’t started dialysis yet?
There are several ways of judging how well your kidneys are working. One is looking at a blood test called serum creatinine.
A better estimate of your kidney function is called an estimated Glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). This takes into account serum creatinine, age, race and weight.
The National Kidney Foundation has an excellent description of eGFR and the various stages of chronic kidney disease
(www.kidney.org).
If your eGFR is less than 20 and you have passed all the tests required by your transplant team, then you can be placed on the kidney transplant list and be available for offers of a perfect match kidney.
When your eGFR is 20 or below, the decision as to when to proceed with transplant depends on how your body is coping with the strain of failing kidneys and how rapidly they are failing. In general, a
transplant should be considered in the near future when your eGFR is 15 ml/min or less, even if you are not experiencing any obvious symptoms of kidney failure. Like so many of the issues affecting dialysis and transplantation, the best decisions for your health will be made by you in coordination with your regular kidney doctor and the transplant team. We encourage you to ask questions, write down questions that occur to you at home to bring to your doctors’ appointments, and bring a friend or family member with you to these appointments.