The patient will be under general anesthesia throughout the surgery. Once asleep, the transplant surgeon will make an incision on the right or left side of the lower abdomen just above the groin.

The surgical team will then place the donor kidney into the abdomen and connect the kidney's blood vessels to the recipient's iliac artery and vein. The surgeons will then connect the ureter to the bladder. A small drain, called a Jackson Pratt, may be placed into the abdominal cavity to drain any excess fluid.