Kidney Transplant Program

Mayo Clinic surgeons are experts in performing minimally invasive surgery to remove a donor's kidney (laparoscopic donor nephrectomy) for a kidney transplant, as an alternative to open surgery.

In laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, surgeons conduct the procedure through one or several small incisions in your abdomen using surgical instruments and a long, thin tube with a camera at the end (laparoscope). A surgeon removes your kidney through the incisions using his or her hand.

After laparoscopic nephrectomy, you may have a quicker recovery, a shorter hospital stay and less pain than after open surgery. Many kidney donors return to their normal activities or job within a few weeks of donating a kidney.