Will there be any problems with my sexuality after the
surgery?
While a kidney transplant can cause many life changes, it does not affect a
woman's desire to become pregnant or hinder a man's ability to father a child.
Recommendations for female transplant patients
Although fertility is not a problem, rejection or high blood pressure are both
complications a woman might experience for at least one year following transplant surgery.
It is important to prevent a pregnancy during this time by taking extra precautions. This
doesn't mean that you cannot have a healthy pregnancy later.
However, you should know the risks and make sure your doctor has experience dealing
with a transplant patient.
It is also important to know that a transplant patient who becomes a new mother should
not breastfeed her baby. The immunosuppressive medicine prescribed after
transplantation can be passed through the mother's breast milk and can cause harm to the
baby.
Female transplant patients should be sure to have a yearly PAP test (a test for cancer
of the cervix) and a mammogram. Immunosuppressive medicine could cause increased
susceptibility to various types of cancer. Pap tests and mammograms are preventive
measures that can help your health care providers detect any problems.
Recommendations for male transplant patients
Male transplant patients might experience difficulty with erections of the penis after
surgery. This might be caused by a reduction of blood flow to the penis, or it might be a
result of the transplant medicine. In most cases, this situation can be corrected.