National Kidney Donation Organization Hits Mentoring Milestone
(Cos Cob, CT, December 10, 2024) — The National Kidney Donation Organization (NKDO) is excited to announce the successful mentorship of 1,000 living kidney donors in 2024. Just over 2,000 living kidney donors have been mentored since the inception of this program in 2021.This milestone was accomplished in partnership with the National Kidney Registry’s (NKR) Donor Connect program. Connecting well-trained living donors with those interested in the process helps fulfill NKDO’s mission to educate and advocate for living kidney donor candidates.
Donor Connect is an NKR-sponsored program that allows donor candidates to speak with a living donor mentor. These mentors are living kidney donors who can explain the process, answer questions, offer insights, and provide education based on their donation experience. NKDO mentors have been through the steps of donor evaluation, surgery, recovery, and post-donation life. As NKDO’s CEO and Founder Ned Brooks shares, “NKDO is the largest kidney donor advocacy organization in the country and our mentors have completed Independent Living Donor Advocate (ILDA) training. No one is better equipped to speak with a donor candidate than someone who has already been through the process.” Brooks himself donated a kidney to a stranger in 2015.
Mentors are also skilled at connecting living donors with post-donation resources that allow them to become engaged in the vibrant living donor community. Webinars, Ask Me Anything events, and attendance at in-person educational and social events serve to connect living donors. More information can be found at www.nkdo.org/membership.
NKDO’s mentoring success has increased dramatically since the program’s inception in 2021. In that inaugural year, NKDO mentors connected with eight individuals who eventually donated a kidney. In 2022, that number grew to 184; in 2023, the number of mentored donors who donated was 721 and in 2024, that number is now over 1,000.
“The Donor Connect program is active at over 100 U.S. transplant centers and available to approximately 70,000 donor candidates who register on the NKR donor intake platforms. A donor candidate is over five times more likely to donate when they are connected to a donor mentor,” said Garet Hil, living kidney donor and Founder of the National Kidney Registry.
NKDO and NKR have collaborated to improve the living donor registration and education process. The Donor Connect program has enhanced that process by providing a supportive, engaging method of interacting with those interested in the living donation process.As one living donor shared, “Knowing you were there to guide and support me eased so much of the fear of the unknown. I’m endlessly appreciative of you and everyone at NKDO for the incredible work you do.” More information about living kidney donation is available here:www.nkdo.org/faqs/.
About the National Kidney Donation Organization The National Kidney Donation Organization is focused on educating and advocating for those interested in living kidney donation. Its efforts extend beyond donation to support those who have already donated. For more information about NKDO, visit www.nkdo.org.