Become a Living Kidney Donor

Although the number of patients added to the national kidney transplant waiting list increases each year, the number of available donors stays roughly the same. This means potential kidney recipients must often wait to receive lifesaving care for kidney disease.

At the Kidney Transplant Program, a part of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, our doctors perform kidney transplants from living donors. This approach allows for shorter wait times and timely treatment of kidney disease, which can improve the outcomes of recipients.

Organ Donation by Living Kidney Donors

For living kidney donation, donors provide one of their two kidneys for a transplant. The remaining kidney is fully functioning and ensures that the donor remains healthy and has a good quality of life. Surgical techniques, including minimally invasive kidney removal, have made it easier for family members and others to donate a kidney to a loved one in need.

Patient Milissa Rocker Klotz and Dr. Bruce Gelb talk about Milissa’s living donor kidney transplant.

There is no financial or medical benefit to donating a kidney. However, many people find helping another person to live longer with a better quality of life and no need for dialysis is incredibly rewarding.

Any healthy individual can be a donor, not only immediate family members. Nondirected donation involves donating to a stranger. Paired kidney exchange, also called paired donation, matches incompatible pairs for transplants. These options allow anyone to become a living donor.Our experts complete an extensive evaluation process to minimize the risks to the donor.

Benefits of Living Kidney Donation

Kidneys from living donors typically last longer in recipients than kidneys from deceased donors. When a kidney is received from a deceased donor, organ transplant surgery must occur within a short timeframe. A living donor kidney provides the recipient with the ability to prepare for surgery. The date of the procedure can be planned around the donor’s schedule, as well as the schedule of the medical team and the recipient.

Doctors can also schedule kidney transplant surgery at a time when the kidney recipient is doing well medically. The healthier the recipient is before transplant, the better. We aim to perform transplant early enough in the disease process, before other organs and systems are affected. This allows for a safer procedure, helps with the recovery process, and improves surgical outcomes.

Living Kidney Donor Consultation

Kidney donor candidates must complete a series of medical examinations and interviews with our transplant team to determine whether they are appropriate candidates for living donation surgery. The consultation may include the following:

• blood tests to check kidney function and to determine donor blood type and tissue type, which ensures compatibility for a recipient
• urine tests to help screen for kidney disease and for urinary tract infection
• imaging tests such as X-rays and MRI or CT scans to check the structure and function of the kidneys
• evaluation by a cardiologist to ensure any high blood pressure is controlled, an electrocardiogram (EKG) to check the heart’s electrical activity, and a possible echocardiogram, an imaging test to evaluate the heart’s structure and function
• pulmonary tests to check lung function
• a meeting with a social worker or psychologist to ensure the donor is prepared for the organ donation process
• a discussion with a transplant surgeon and nephrologist, which is a kidney specialist
• a meeting with an independent living donor advocate, who ensures that the donor’s interests are represented

When this evaluation is complete, our transplant team meets with the potential donor to discuss test results and candidacy. If the team agrees, the surgery is planned around the donor’s and recipient’s schedules.

What to Expect from Kidney Donor Surgery

Our doctors are experts in kidney transplantation. For living donor kidney surgery, doctors perform a nephrectomy, which is the surgical removal of a healthy kidney. Surgeons typically use laparoscopy, a minimally invasive approach that requires making a small incision in the lower abdomen. After surgery, the donor may remain in the hospital for a couple days for observation and can typically return to regular activities after six weeks.

Contact Us

If you are interested in becoming a living kidney donor, you can complete a confidential health screening for kidney donations.

To learn more about kidney donation or to speak with a donor team specialist, call 212-263-3621 or email NYUTrLivingDonor@NYULangone.org.