Answering Your Questions About Living Donation

The following provides general information about living donation. For additional information about the evaluation process, the surgery, risks and making the decision, please visit www.livingdonors.org, NKF’s Living Donors Web site. The Web site also includes ways to connect with other living donors and potential donors (through the Message Board, E-mail Discussion Group, Pen Pals and online chats), stories about living donation, tributes to donors, and information about news and events.

What is living donation?

Living donation takes place when a living person donates an organ (or part of an organ) for transplantation to another person. The living donor can be a family member, such as a parent, child, brother or sister (living related donation).

Living donation can also come from someone who is emotionally related to the recipient, such as a good friend, spouse or an in-law (living unrelated donation).

In some cases, living donation may even be from a stranger, which is called nondirected donation.

What organs can come from living donors?

The organ most commonly given by a living donor is the kidney. People usually have two kidneys, and one is all that is needed to live a normal life. Parts of other organs including the lung, liver and pancreas are now being transplanted from living donors.

What are the advantages of living donation over nonliving donation?

Transplants performed from living donors have several advantages compared to transplants performed from nonliving donors (individuals who have been declared brain dead and their families have made the decision to donate their organs):

  1. Some living donor transplants are done between family members who are genetically similar. A better genetic match lessens the risk of rejection.
  2. A kidney from a living donor usually functions immediately, making it easier to monitor. Some nonliving donor kidneys do not function immediately and as a result, the patient may require dialysis until the kidney starts to function.
  3. Potential donors can be tested ahead of time to find the donor who is most compatible with the recipient. The transplant can take place at a time convenient for both donor and recipient.

Are transplants from living donors always successful?

Although transplantation is highly successful, and success rates continue to improve, problems may occur. Sometimes, the kidney is lost to rejection, surgical complications or the original disease that caused the recipient’s kidneys to fail. Talk to the transplant center staff about their success rates and the national success rates.

Where can I find statistics related to living donation?

You can find some statistics on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Web site. UNOS compiles statistics on every transplant center in the U.S. Go to http://www.unos.org/data/about/viewDataReports.asp to view all UNOS data. You can find statistics on the number of nonliving and living donor transplants performed at that particular center as well as the graft survival rates for the transplant recipient, the center and additional information about donation and transplantation.

The best source of information on expected donor outcomes is from your transplant team. See the list of “Elements of Disclosure” at http://www.kidney.org/recips/livingdonors/pdf/jama_article.pdf (page 3) for a list of issues to discuss with our transplant team. You can also check http://www.transplantliving.org/livingdonation for additional information about donation and transplantation.

How does liver donation work?

Some transplant centers perform living donor liver transplants. If you are considering donating a part of your liver to a friend or family member, contact the person’s transplant center for more information. If the transplant candidate does not yet have a transplant center, contact centers in the candidate’s area for information.

Donating a section of a liver is riskier than kidney donation, and much less common. Transplanting a piece of the liver works because the liver regenerates itself in both the donor and recipient after the transplantation.

Besides being in excellent physical and psychological health, the liver donor must undergo extensive examinations and testing. A radiological imaging of the liver is done to assess the anatomy, liver volume and size. A liver biopsy may be performed.

Most often parents donate a piece of a liver to a child. Adult to adult live liver transplant is still relatively rare.

Speak to your transplant center staff about their experience and success rates, which can give you crucial information to help you make a decision. You can find statistics and information about living donation at www.transplantliving.org, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Web site.

How does lung donation work?

Living lung donation involves two adults giving the right and left lower lobes from each respectively to an adult or pediatric recipient.

The potential donors’ lungs must be the right size and volume. For adult recipients, the donors should be at least as tall as the recipient. Ideally, donors should not be overweight and should be nonsmokers.

Potential donors receive a series of exams and tests including chest radiography, pulmonary function testing, ventilation-perfusion scanning and computed tomography, and a cardiac stress test.

Again, donating a lung is riskier than live kidney donation and the risks and benefits will be discussed with the transplant team.

Contact transplant centers for additional information about lung donation. You can find statistics and information about living donation at www.transplantliving.org, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Web site. Talk to your transplant center staff for more information about lung donation.

What about blood and bone marrow donation?

Blood and bone marrow donations save lives every day. For more information about blood donation, visit the American Red Cross at www.redcross.org or call (800) GIVE LIFE.

For information about bone marrow or blood stem cell donation, contact the National Marrow Donor Program at www.marrow.org or at (800) MARROW2.

Please visit NKF’s website on living donation at www.livingdonors.org for detailed information.

Updated: 12/16/04

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©2005 National Kidney Foundation. All rights reserved. This material does not constitute medical advice. It is intended for informational purposes only. No one associated with the National Kidney Foundation will answer medical questions via e-mail. Please consult a physician for specific treatment recommendations.