FAQs Regarding Living Kidney Donation

Those who are interested in being evaluated to donate a kidney have a few options for how to get started. 

If you are interested in being evaluated to donate a kidney to someone you know, they should be able to provide you with a link that will help you navigate the first steps of the intake process at the hospital with which they are already working. 

If you are interested in donating a kidney but you don’t have someone already in mind to whom you’d like to donate, you can reach out to a kidney exchange program (like the National Kidney Registry or the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation) and fill out their screening questionnaire. Along the way, you will be connected with the transplant center closest to your home that is a part of that network.

If you would prefer to go with the nearest transplant hospital to you regardless of whether or not they participate in an exchange network,  you can simply find your nearest transplant center, head to their website and follow the prompts to indicate your interest in being evaluated for donating a kidney at their center. 

Regardless of which option you pursue, there’s no cost to be screened, and you can opt out of the process at any time.

To donate a kidney, a donor candidate must be in good physical and mental health. Individual transplant centers set age limit guidelines. Candidates must also have normal kidney function. There are some medical conditions that could prevent someone from being a living donor.

This is a great question, and the answer varies depending on the transplant center you are attempting to be approved to donate through. While there are some rules that the majority of centers observe (for example, most centers will not approve a prospective donor with a history of cancer, active substance abuse issues, active kidney disease, uncontrolled mental health issues, and others), many other medical issues fall into a grey area- for some transplant centers they may be a dealbreaker, but for others, they do not cause a candidate to be ruled out. 

This is because different transplant centers employ different surgeons with different levels of experience and expertise,  and therefore they have different levels of risk tolerance when considering the safety of proceeding with the surgery. 

It is for this reason that we don’t advertise that any particular medical condition is a disqualifier for becoming a living kidney donor. Even having Type 2 Diabetes is no longer a hard exclusionary critera for prospective living kidney donors anymore, provided that there is no end stage organ damage, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (2022). We encourage anybody who is interested in living donation to pursue evaluation and let the doctors make the final  determination of whether or not you are an appropriate candidate. And, if you are rejected at one transplant center, it is not impossible that another transplant center might accept you depending on the reason for your initial rejection. 

A great resource for overcoming an initial rejection is Project Donor. They are a trusted resource for helping people who need to overcome typical barriers to donation like lowering BMI, smoking cessation, blood pressure control, and mental health support. 

Although age requirements vary at different centers, the minimum age at some centers is 18 years old. Some centers have no maximum age for kidney donation if the donor is deemed healthy and medically able to proceed.

On average, the testing process can take several months, but may be longer depending on the donor’s availability and acquisition of requested medical records.

The transplant center thoroughly tests both the donor candidate and the intended recipient to make this determination. 

If it is determined that you are not a direct match with your intended recipient, the transplant center will share options with you about how you may be able to participate in a paired exchange (donating to a stranger in exchange for a stranger donating to your intended recipient). 

Exchange programs that create networks between transplant centers all over the country (like the National Kidney Registry and the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation) offer the flexibility for you to donate to a well-matched person in need of a kidney, and for your intended recipient to receive the best matched kidney possible- this is a great solution for if you aren’t a match for your intended recipient, or if you need to have your surgeries take place at different times. 

Even if you ARE a match for your intended recipient, participating in a kidney swap can still be a great option to ensure that your intended recipient gets a kidney from a donor who is an even better match. A better match usually means the transplanted kidney lasts longer. 

With this type of program, the donor donates according to their schedule and the exchange program matches their kidney with a patient in that program’s national registry. The donor’s intended recipient is then prioritized to receive a well-matched living donor kidney through that exchange program’s network of hospitals. 

Some individual transplant centers (even if they’re not a part of an exchange network) also facilitate this type of arrangement (known as a “kidney swap”) among patients being treated at their transplant center. 

Donating a kidney to a stranger can come with concerns about what happens if a friend or loved one needs a kidney in the future, and you no longer have an extra one to give. 

For donors who don’t have a specific recipient in mind, if you elect to donate through an exchange program like the National Kidney Registry or the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation, you will be given a voucher which can be redeemed by a friend or family member of yours if they ever need to be prioritized to receive a kidney in the future. 

Each program has differing rules regarding how the voucher can be redeemed and who will qualify. You can learn all about both options by clicking the links above. 

Kidney paired donation (also called a kidney swap) is an intervention that allows for two donors who do not match their intended recipients to donate to each others’ intended recipients. 

Let’s give an example. In this example, there are two pairs of people: Donor Number One (Jack) and Recipient Number One (Jill) are the first pair. Donor Number Two (Fred) and Receipient Number Two (Wilma) are the second pair. 

 Jack is a healthy potential donor, and he is not a good match for Jill. Fred is a healthy potential donor, and he is not a good match for Wilma. 

Jack matches Wilma, and testing has revealed that Fred is a good match for Jill. 

So without a kidney swap, the situation would be that neither intended recipient can safely receive a kidney from the person who has stepped up to donate on their behalf. However, by implementing a kidney swap, Jack donates to Wilma, Fred donates to Jill, and both lives are saved. 

This same principle can be applied in a number of other ways. For example, one potential donor who does not have an intended recipient can start a donation chain. They can donate to a recipient who is a good match, and that person’s non-matching donor can donate to another recipient who has a non-matching donor, and the chain can continue, saving many many lives. Some chains include a handful of recipients, but the longest known chain involved more than 100 people. 

Even a donor who is a good match for their intended recipient, but who is willing to donate to a stranger, can choose to maximize their gift by beginning a kidney swap that leads to their intended recipient getting a matching kidney and also more lives being saved along the way.

Available options through exchange programs include remote donation (the donor’s kidney is flown to the recipient’s location), a kidney-paired donation (described above), or a voucher donation (described above).

A donor candidate may withdraw their decision until the anesthesiologist renders them unconscious.

A medical reason will be given to the recipient for why the procedure was cancelled, so the donor never has to worry about feeling pressured to continue with the process- they will always have the option to stop the process if they decide it is not right for them. 

Yes! Fill out This Form and we will connect you with someone who was once in your shoes, who can share their experience as a donor, be a source of support, and point you in the direction of resources that can help you as you take the next steps.