On an experimental basis and within the framework of the collaboration among partner health care facilities, an agreement has been signed between ISMETT and Civico Hospital to merge the kidney transplant programs of the two facilities. In line with the new protocol, both cadaveric and living donor kidney transplants will be performed by a single group which includes the teams of both Civico and ISMETT. According to the new guidelines, drafted by taking into account the parameters set by the Ministry of Health, and the National Transplant Center, waiting lists will be jointly managed.

There are three options for end-stage kidney failure: two kinds of dialysis (hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis), or kidney transplant. The latter allows for the re-establishment of kidney function without resort to chronic dialysis treatment for survival. At present, kidney transplants have a high chance of success and, thanks to new immunosuppressants, it is possible to combine better rejection control with low toxicity for the organism. Quality of life of kidney transplanted patients has dramatically improved, and their life expectancy is certainly higher than that of patients on chronic dialysis. While dialysis was once used for relatively young patients, today, owing to an increase in average life expectancy, elderly patients undergo chronic dialysis: as a consequence, the number of patients who, though elderly, can be added to the kidney transplant waiting list is increasing.

Kidney transplantation in itself is not a very complex surgery, although individual anatomical differences between recipient and donor call for an expert surgeon. As a general rule, the transplant procedure lasts 2 to 4 hours, and can be performed on patients whose ages range from a just few months to over the age of 75. The transplanted kidney is placed in a different area as compared to the native kidney, i.e. in one of the two iliac fossae, without damaging the peritoneum. The renal artery is anastomized to the iliac artery and the renal vein to the recipient's external iliac vein. In the end, the ureter is implanted in the bladder, so that urine can easily drain into the latter. In most cases, native kidneys are not removed, unless it is believed they could cause subsequent clinical complications.