Living Donor

With estimated wait times of at least three to five years, many people with kidney disease die before a new organ becomes available. By donating a kidney, you can help change those odds and save a life.

New minimally invasive approaches make it easier for donors to recover.
New surgical techniques allow doctors to remove a kidney using smaller incisions than ever before. Today's living-kidney donors are usually out of the hospital within two days and back to work within a minimum of two weeks.

Even if you are not a match for your recipient, you can still donate on their behalf.
This is because of paired-kidney exchanges – an intricate process of mixing and matching recipients and their donors in an ever-widening pool until the right pairings are found. While that means your kidney may go to a stranger, your donation assures that the person you volunteered to help gets a new organ, too.

You can live a long and normal life with only one kidney.
Prior to your donation, you will receive a thorough medical exam by our transplant team to evaluate your overall health and look for any unknown problems. Our team wants to protect your health, too!

You don't have to be an exact blood match with your intended recipient.
Some organs are so close to being a match that doctors can use innovative techniques to decrease the likelihood of rejection. "Close enough" is better than having to live with diseased kidneys!

For more information on living donation, here is a link to an excellent resource from the United Network for Organ Sharing. Click here >

Criteria have been developed to ensure that all people on the national donor waiting list are judged based on the severity of their illness and the urgency of receiving a transplant.

Piedmont Transplant shares patient need data and conditions with The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the agency responsible for transplant organ distribution in the United States.

After you decide to donate a kidney, the Piedmont Transplant Institute team will verify whether your blood type is compatible with the recipient's via two blood tests:

• One to determine your blood type (ABO)
• Another to classify your tissue (HLA) and determine how closely it matches the recipient's tissue.

If you are a compatible match, you will be scheduled for a two-day outpatient donor evaluation at the hospital.

When you arrive for the evaluation, you will have routine blood tests and be asked to give a urine sample. Other tests are:

• Chest X-ray to evaluate your chest and lungs
• Electrocardiogram (EKG) to test your heart function
• Renal scan (Glo-Fil) to measure how your kidneys filter your blood
• Computed tomography (CT) scan to examine the anatomy of your kidneys (this helps determine if you are a good candidate for a laparoscopic – or minimally invasive — kidney removal)

The transplant team will meet to review your tests and determine if you're healthy enough to undergo surgery. The surgeon will review the technical aspects of the procedure, possible complications, and the expected recovery after donation. You will also have an opportunity to discuss any questions you may have and speak with a psychiatrist about the emotional aspect of donation.

After receiving approval from the transplant team, you should talk with your loved ones and decide if kidney donation is right for you, your family and the potential recipient.