Living Kidney Donation

Eighty percent (80%) of all of the people waiting for an organ in Wisconsin are waiting for a kidney. That means over 1,200 families are hoping that their loved one will receive the gift of life.

Living donors not only help one specific recipient, but also reduce the wait for another person who is on the waiting list who does not have a living donor.

Through donation, living donors can help to save the life of a patient by improving his or her health or quality of life.

When a person receives a kidney from a living donor, whether it’s someone they know or someone who comes forward to donate a kidney, the surgery is scheduled at a mutually convenient time. Receiving a kidney from a living donor may decrease the risk of rejection since the evaluation process allows the opportunity to find a ‘better match’ for the recipient. Living donation also reduces the amount of time that the kidney is out of one body before it is transplanted into another body.

Each transplant center has specific criteria and requirements for potential living donors.  The general criteria are:

• An individual (18 years of age or older)
• A desire to become a living donor
• Good overall mental and physical health

Certain medical conditions may prevent a person from becoming a living kidney donor. Since some health conditions and/or diseases could harm a transplant recipient, it is important that a potential living donor provide the transplant center with accurate answers when asked about conditions including blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, HIV, hepatitis, acute infections, or psychiatric conditions requiring treatment.

A person who wants to be a living donor for someone they know should first contact the potential recipient’s transplant center. If someone who does not know a person awaiting a kidney transplant, but wants to help, he/she should contact a transplant center that is close to where he/she lives or works.

When contacting a transplant center, a potential living donor should ask to speak with the Living Donor Coordinator for kidney transplantation. The coordinator will be able to provide information about the criteria to become a living donor at that center. Many times, an individual will be asked some basic questions over the telephone or mailed a packet of information with some survey questions to answer. The living donor coordinator assists a potential living donor throughout the entire evaluation process.

After the initial contact with the transplant center, eligible potential living donors will then begin the psychosocial and medical evaluation process. The evaluation process helps the living donor understand all of the aspects of the donation and transplant process, including the benefits and risks.

This process is organized to protect the potential living donor and to ensure the transplant is as successful as possible. The person who is a potential living donor has the right to delay or stop the evaluation process at any time. The reasons behind any decisions made by a potential living donor are kept confidential.

The transplant recipient’s insurance will cover the expenses of the living donor including the tests required for the transplant evaluation, surgery, and some follow-up medical appointments. It is important to know if the recipient’s insurance will cover follow-up services if there are medical complications from the donation as personal insurance may not cover these expenses. The recipient’s insurance coverage usually does not include reimbursement for travel, lodging, childcare, or lost wages. A living donor cannot be paid for the donation, but may receive reimbursement for certain expenses related to the donation process.

A person who volunteers to be a living donor for a specific person may not always be compatible with that person.  However, there may be other options available to help that person to receive a kidney, including paired exchange or through a larger kidney registry involving transplant centers in other parts of the state or country. The transplant coordinator at the center can explain both of these options.

On occasion, a person volunteers to donate his/her kidney to someone unknown to them. This is called a non-directed donation. A recipient is matched with a donor based on medical compatibility.

It can be helpful for a potential living donor or someone considering living donation to talk to other people who have been living donors. The National Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin offers various community educational sessions on living donation that include living donors, recipients and transplant coordinators.

Join the Living Donors Together Facebook Group and view upcoming programs or call the National Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin office (414-897-8669) for more information.

Organ Donation Resources

Becoming an Organ, Tissue or Eye Donor in Wisconsin
Visit: DonateLifeWisconsin.org

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)
Visit: www.unos.org

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the private, non-profit organization that manages the nation’s organ transplant system under contract with the federal government.

UNOS is involved in many aspects of the organ transplant and donation process:

• Manages the national transplant waiting list, matching donors to recipients 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Maintains the database that contains all organ transplant data for every transplant event that occurs in the U.S.
• Develops policies that make the best use of the limited supply of organs and give all patients a fair chance at receiving the organ they need, regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, religion, lifestyle or financial/social status.
• Monitors every organ match to ensure organ allocation policies are followed.
• Educates the public about the importance of organ donation.

Solid Organ Transplant Centers in Wisconsin

More Information

Additional information about organ transplant and other kidney health topics can be accessed from the
National Kidney Foundation’s Topic Brochures page. Click here to be directed to the National
site.