KIDNEY PLACEMENT

In most kidney transplant cases, the diseased kidneys are not removed because the procedure would place undue stress on the recipient's body. Because of this, the transplant recipient has three kidneys, while the transplant donor only has one. Though the recipient technically has three kidneys, only the new donated kidney functions properly. The two diseased kidneys will atrophy and shrink as the donated kidney grows faster and becomes larger than a normal paired kidney. In general, people with a single kidney have few or no problems, and the single healthy kidney functions properly for a number of years.

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