Donor Information
Living Donor Transplantation
A kidney from a living donor has better long-term survival rates than kidney from a deceased donor. The waiting time for a deceased donor kidney could potentially be three to six years; therefore, kidney donation from a living donor is always the preferred option when available.
All transplant patients who are eligible to receive an organ from a living donor are encouraged to reach out to their families, friends, and communities to identify a potential donor. Patients are given the following living donor paperwork at their education session.
Interested donors need to submit the information form and questionnaire online.
Once the Living Donor Coordinator has received and processed the necessary paperwork, she will call the potential donor to discuss the evaluation and matching process. The first step is to do blood work to test for compatibility of donor and recipient. If those results come back as compatible, the rest of the evaluation can move forward.
Potential donors will then be seen by a transplant surgeon, nephrologist, social worker, independent living donor advocate, dietitian, pharmacist, and financial coordinator. The surgeon and nephrologist evaluating the potential donor are not involved in the evaluation of the recipient in order to provide an unbiased opinion. Once everyone has had the opportunity to evaluate the potential donor they are brought before the Transplant Selection Committee for review.
If the Selection Committee agrees to move forward with the living donor transplantation, surgery can be scheduled at that time.
Altruistic Living Donation – Getting Started
Those interested in becoming an altruistic organ donor need to complete the living donor form and questionnaire online.
More information can be obtained by speaking with the Living Donor Coordinator, (318) 212-8384.