Become an Anonymous Living Kidney Donor and Save a Life
Living kidney donation means that an organ can be taken from one healthy person to replace a nonfunctioning kidney in another person. Afterwards, both the living organ donor and the recipient can have normal, active lives. In anonymous living donation, a healthy person gives his/her kidney to an individual who can’t live without dialysis or a new kidney — and the donor and recipient never meet. This is truly a gift of life.
The Need for Donors
Both adults and children can suffer from kidney failure and may now or will soon be in need of a transplant. People in need have been receiving transplants from family and friends and from deceased donors for many years, but there aren't enough kidneys to help everyone. In order to increase the number of kidneys available for transplant and to lessen the suffering of those waiting, the Pacific Northwest Transplant Bank (PNTB) and the area's kidney transplant centers (Oregon Health & Science University and Legacy Transplant Services) have partnered to create the Anonymous Living Donor Program (ALDP).
Advantages of Living Donation
Most often, someone who needs a kidney transplant has a much better chance of living a longer healthy life if he or she can find a living donor. There are several reasons, among them:
- Living organ donation gives better results for the recipient;
- It eliminates the wait for a deceased-donor organ; and
- It allows for transplant surgery to be scheduled when both donor and recipient are in top physical and emotional health.
Who Can Donate?
Kidney donations come from blood relatives, spouses, friends, co-workers, acquaintances and anonymous volunteers between the ages of 21 and 70 who are in good health. Donors don’t need to be biologically related to the recipient to have excellent results because medical advances have produced effective medications to prevent rejection.
Anonymous donors are living donors who make their donation purely out of selfless motives. Recipients are those at the top of the local wait list. In order to determine eligibility, a person must undergo a health evaluation and counseling. A medical history, physical examination and a number of blood and urine tests are performed to determine health. The donor blood type also must be compatible with that of the recipient. Education is provided to ensure that every person considering kidney donation understands the surgery, the risks involved and the recovery period.
To be a donor, you must answer “no” to each of the following questions:
- Do you have high blood pressure?
- Do you have diabetes?
- Have you had cancer in the last five years?
- Is your body mass index (BMI) greater than 35?
(You can check your BMI at http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/.) - Do you have any active or chronic infections or viruses, e.g., HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C?
In addition, you must be:
- a U.S. citizen or a legal resident of the United States,
- covered by health insurance, and
- willing to accept a blood transfusion during the transplant surgery if the medical team deems it necessary.
Whose Decision Is It to Donate?
The decision to donate an organ is serious and personal. Only you can make the decision after weighing the risks and benefits. Potential donors must voluntarily contact the Anonymous Living Donor Program to be considered as a donor. You can find out more about the process and print out valuable information on this Web site.
How Is a Donor Evaluation Conducted?
A team of medical specialists is dedicated to screening donors expertly and to provide potential living donors the detailed information and time they need to consider fully what is involved. The donation experience is completely confidential and separate from the recipient’s transplant.