Life After Kidney Transplantation: The Time for a New Narrative

The first successful kidney transplant in December 1954 between the Herrick brothers ushered in a new field of medicine. Over the almost seventy years, thousands of lives have been saved and patient survival has improved. There is one area of kidney transplant patient care that has been overlooked. Patient quality and ability to participate in life have not been adequately studied. This is due in part to the false narrative of life after kidney transplantation. The false narrative has developed due to the patient voice not being heard due to a variety of factors. The development and implementation of Patient Reported Outcome Measures into clinical practice and clinical trials is the first step ensuring the patient voice is heard systematically. By enabling the patient voice to be heard, I hope this result in a new narrative that is patient centered.