Diabetic nephropathy, renal transplantation can live?

　　Kidney disease and diabetes are often related (diabets causes kidney disease) but a kidney transplant does not cure, or even affect, diabetes. In order to directly affect the diabetes, your mother needs a pancreas transplant. But I suspect that the need for kidneys is much more urgent.

　　The kidneys are responsible for removing excess water from your system AND certain "toxins" like Creatanine a Blood Uric Nitrogen (BUN). [These toxins are a natural product of digestion] If these toxins are not removed from the system, you will die.

　　Also, the kidneys produce a hormone that controls how many red blood cells you have. People with kidney failure are usually anemic (have too few red blood cells).

　　Too few red blood cells means that too little oxygen is getting into the body. This makes you tired. Excess creatanine and BUN also make you tired.
　　The kidneys do not affect insulin or the usage of sugar.

　　If you are diabetic, then your pancreas is not producing enough insulin. This can be handled by taking insulin injections. [Sorry -- that is the only way. Experimments with inhaled insulin have failed, and there are no insulin pills] Since insulin can be injected, a pancreas transplant is not usually considered.
　　But the only hope for kidney problem is either dialysis or transplant.

　　Dialysis is where the doctor attaches you to a special machine. The machine takes the blood out of your body, filters out the poisons, then puts the blood back in. Usually, you do this at special Dialysis Centers. It take about 4 hours on three days a week. Some people (but not all people) can do it at home.

　　Transplant is where they take a kidney from someone else, take out the sick kidneys, and put in a new one. There is a problem called REJECTION. Your body knows that it not YOUR kidney, and tries to kill it. So someone with a transplant needs special anti-rejection medications for the rest of their lives.

　　The donor kidney needs to be matched. Usually, the best bet is to get one kidney from a brother or sister. If that is not possible, then they use one from someone who has already died. In this case it takes about three years to find a new kidney. During that time you MUST be on dialysis.

　　After a kidney transplant, most patients live another 5-10 years. But the number of patients that survive after 10 years is only about 1 in 10.

　　Kidney transplant does NOT cure diabetes; it won't even make it better. But kidney failure is a more serious problem.