Inside look at kidney transplant (GRAPHIC IMAGES)

When a kidney fails to filter the body's blood, causing harmful wastes to build up, doctors may turn to a kidney transplant to help save a patient's life.

During a kidney transplant from a living donor, one team of surgeons will remove the kidney from the donor - while another prepares the recipient for placement of the donated kidney. Then a surgeon will take that healthy kidney and connect it to the artery and vein in the recipient's body, enabling it to filter blood flow and produce urine, doing the work of the two failed kidneys the transplant is replacing.

Keep clicking to see an inside look at this life-saving transplant surgery.

In this image, a kidney donor watches as a consent form is signed by a witness before a kidney transplant operation at Johns Hopkins Hospital June 26, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images