Living Donation Facts

Receiving a kidney from a living donor offers the patient the best possible outcome post-transplant. A living donor kidney has a greater chance of working longer and less chance of rejection. In fact, a live donor kidney can last nearly twice as long as a deceased donor kidney.

Living donation can significantly reduce a patient’s time on dialysis. It can even allow a patient to avoid the need for dialysis at all. In fact, receiving a kidney transplant from a living donor before the need of dialysis is the most ideal scenario.

The waiting period on a transplant waitlist can be up to 10 years or more, depending on the transplant center. The time depends heavily on the patient’s blood type. Once a living donor is deemed a viable candidate for donation, the transplant can be scheduled within a matter of weeks.