What is involved in a kidney transplant?

A kidney transplant involves the transplantation of a kidney from a donor to a patient. This procedure is typically performed when a patient's kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste from the blood, often due to conditions like chronic kidney disease or end-stage renal disease.

During the transplant, a healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor is placed into the recipient's body, typically in the lower abdomen. The new kidney takes over the function of filtering blood and producing urine, alleviating the need for dialysis or other interventions for kidney failure.

The other options present methods or technologies that either do not pertain to kidney transplants specifically or apply to completely different medical processes. For example, using imaging technology might be part of the preparation or assessment before a transplant but is not the core aspect of the procedure itself. Methods for repairing kidney function may refer to various medical treatments or interventions, but they do not specifically define the transplant process. Lastly, in vitro fertilization pertains to reproductive medicine and has no association with kidney transplantation. Hence, the fundamental aspect of a kidney transplant is accurately captured in the option regarding donor kidney transplantation.