Kidney transplantation is a surgical procedure in which a defective kidney is replaced by a healthy kidney from a donor. It is the only therapeutic alternative to dialysis in the management of advanced chronic renal failure.
In Tunisia, the general organization of organ harvesting and transplantation is the responsibility of a public establishment, the Centre National pour la Promotion de la Transplantation d'Organes (National Center for the Promotion of Organ Transplantation). Its missions include management of the waiting list, graft allocation, health vigilance and evaluation of transplant results.
After surgery, immunosuppressive treatment, which is essential throughout the life of the transplant, involves a combination of several drugs. Immunosuppression protocols vary according to the recipient's immunological status, the post-transplant period, and the possibility of acute rejection episodes. Each recipient must be clearly informed of the particularities of the treatment chosen and the side effects associated with the drugs used.
The first kidney transplant was performed by Professor Saadeddine ZMERLI's team at the Charles Nicolle Hospital in Tunis in 1986. Since then, five kidney transplant centers have performed more than 1,000 kidney transplants, with 90% of grafts coming from living donors.