Becoming a Living Kidney Donor

With more than 90,000 people nationwide needing a kidney transplant, the wait for a new organ can be long. Virtua Advanced Transplant & Organ Health encourages and supports living kidney donors who seek to improve the lives of others.

What Are the Types of Living Kidney Donation at Virtua?

A living kidney donor can be:

• A family member, friend, coworker, neighbor, or someone who learns of the need through social media or other means
• An anonymous individual who offer to donate an organ as gesture of compassion to transform another’s life
• A participant in a paired exchange (when incompatible living donor pairs match up, allowing the two donors to switch recipients), chain, or remote donor transplant (which allows donors to complete their testing and transplant surgeries at a center close to home rather than traveling to the recipient’s hospital) through organizations such as the National Kidney Registry.

Do I Need to Be Related to My Intended Recipient?

No. Today, drugs that prevent the body from rejecting a donor kidney are so effective that an organ doesn’t always need to be a match in tissue type with the recipient. However, the donor’s and recipient’s blood types must still be compatible.

How Will My Life Be Affected After My Kidney Donation?

Research shows that there are few, if any, long-term health effects on living kidney donors. After spending a few days in the hospital, you should be able to return to regular activities in four to six weeks.

Your remaining kidney will be able to fulfill your body’s needs. It will be important for you to have annual checkups with your health care provider and go to follow-up appointments with the post-transplant team.

Becoming a Living Kidney Donor at Virtua

In order to be a living kidney donor, you will need to be:

• Between the ages of 18 and 70
• In good overall physical and mental health

Medical conditions such as uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, certain infections, or severe mental health condition may prevent you from being a living donor.

Living kidney donation eligibility tests

Potential donors undergo a series of tests and consultations to determine if you are eligible to donate. These include blood, imaging, and heart tests.

You will meet with our living donor team, who will determine if you meet the criteria for donation. The donor team includes a kidney physician (nephrologist), surgeon, nurse coordinator, social worker, dietitian, independent living donor advocate, and pharmacist.

If you are donating your kidney through the remote kidney donation program, you will undergo your evaluation at your local transplant center. Your information then will be sent to Virtua Advanced Transplant & Organ Health.

Paying for your surgery

There is no financial benefit to donating your kidney. Most medical expenses are covered by the recipient’s insurance.

Depending on financial eligibility, donors may qualify for some assistance covering travel, living expenses, and other non-medical costs related to the donation.

What to Expect With Living Kidney Donation

Living kidney donations are scheduled in advance, with the donation and transplantation procedures occurring on the same day. If you donating to someone you know, the surgery will occur at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, likely in adjacent operating rooms. If you are part of a paired exchange or remote transplant, your surgery will occur at your local transplant center. Your organ then will be transported by special courier to Virtua.

Thanks to minimally invasive and robotic-assisted techniques, you will spend only two or three days in the hospital recovering. You will only have a small scar.

Your remaining kidney will efficiently meet all of your body’s needs.