As Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin strive to make transplant an option for all patient candidates, our Living Kidney Donor Program helps meet the critical need for organs. It also offers the expertise in live donor patient care that makes the experience a “win-win” for donors and recipients.

A living kidney donation is possible when a living person donates a kidney to someone who needs a transplant. The kidney remaining in the donor is able to adequately remove waste from the body. Single kidney donation is the most often performed live donor procedure and is occurring more frequently due to the growing need for kidneys for transplantation. Donors do not need to be biologically related to the recipient in order to donate.

It only takes a few simple steps to learn more about becoming a living kidney transplant donor.

Kidney Transplant Patient Flyer
 

 

Living Donors Increase Transplant Options

When a living donor match is secured for a transplant candidate, the candidate can be removed from the waiting list for a deceased donor kidney. This subsequently shortens the wait list time for another candidate. If a candidate is motivated to donate, but is not a match, our participation in kidney exchange programs through the National Kidney Registry (NKR) and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) provides access to a pool of living donors across the country. NKR orchestrates more exchange transplants than any other exchange program in the world. Participation in the kidney exchange program is also encouraged for donor-recipient pairs that are compatible in order to access an even better donor for that recipient (for example, a better immunological match, better age match, or simpler kidney anatomy).

Living Donation Improves Kidney Transplant Success Rates

The ten-year graft (organ) survival rate for kidneys received through living donation is 15 percent higher than kidneys received from a deceased donor, according to the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). There are many reasons a  living kidney donation enhances outcomes and is the preferred approach to kidney transplantation.

  • Optimal health for donor and recipient – Living donor transplants can be carefully planned so the recipient and donor are in the best possible health.
    • Living donors are evaluated according to strict guidelines, and donors with potential medical problems are not accepted.
    • Kidneys removed from living donors are in excellent condition and are transplanted in a short timeframe, which minimizes stress to the organ.
    • Living donor transplantation can be performed “pre-emptively” — before the transplant candidate’s condition worsens and requires dialysis — which can take its toll on the candidate’ health and affect outcomes.
  • Less chance of rejection – Testing prior to surgery ensures that the donor’s kidney will be a good match for the recipient and less vulnerable to rejection.
  • Emotional motivation for self-care after transplant – Recipients often bond emotionally with their donor knowing that an enormous sacrifice was made for them. This has been shown to motivate recipients to take better care of themselves after they have a transplant.

Who Can be a Living Kidney Donor?

Many people may think they are not healthy enough to donate a kidney, that it is not within their financial means or that they must be related to the recipient. Live donors are carefully screened. They undergo extensive testing to determine if it is medically and psychologically safe for them to donate a kidney. 

As for financial concerns, the recipient’s insurance carrier pays for the donor’s evaluation, hospitalization, surgery and follow-up care. While direct financial compensation for kidney donation is illegal, there are many financial assistance programs available to cover the medical expenses and related costs associated with living organ donation.

Kidney donation is safe and well-regulated. Donors are most commonly unrelated to the recipient and are often part of an exchange or chain of donors that give the gift of life.

 
How to Donate a Kidney

Living donor candidates should be in good physical and mental health and free of diseases that would exclude them from donation, including insulin-dependent diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and organ diseases. Living donors may have a recipient in mind or may choose to donate as a Good Samaritan to someone they don’t know.

Getting Started With Living Kidney Donation

To be considered for living kidney donation, please fill out the form below. Once the form is submitted, our team will carefully evaluate your information to determine if you are a potential candidate. We will contact you within two business days after the completed form is received.

Become a Living Donor

Our living kidney donor patient care team is focused on and committed to our donor patients’ health. To reach a member of our Living Donor Team please call 414-805-0310.

What Kidney Donors Can Expect

Once testing is completed and an individual is accepted as a living kidney donor, the team will review the pairing and recommend donation directly to the intended recipient or donation through paired exchange. The timing of donation is up to the donor and is often scheduled in advance of the recipient surgery if donation is through the exchange program. A team of experts in kidney donor care provide all aspects of care, before, during and after surgery.

Laparoscopic Kidney Donation Surgery

Living kidney donation, or nephrectomy, is a major surgery, but recent medical advancements make it possible to minimize the impact on the donor.

The surgery generally lasts two to three hours while the patient is asleep under general anesthesia. At Froedtert Hospital, all living kidney donation surgeries are laparoscopic, which means the kidney is removed using a few small incisions, the largest of which will be only about three inches long. With laparoscopic nephrectomy, patients have less visible scarring, shorter hospital stays and a more rapid return to normal activities.

Living kidney donors at Froedtert Hospital receive care on an inpatient unit dedicated to transplant patients. Patients can expect to be discharged from the hospital within a day or two and to be back to work and their regular routines in less than three weeks. Lifting is restricted to a maximum of 10 pounds until eight weeks after surgery to promote optimal healing.

Post-Surgery Care for Living Donors

After surgery, donors commonly experience post-surgical discomfort, but major complications following kidney donor surgery are rare. Long-term studies have shown that living with a single kidney has little impact on a donor’s health and does not change the donor’s life expectancy.

Once they are fully recovered, donors need to visit their primary care physicians regularly to monitor their blood pressure, kidney function and general health, on a schedule aligned with typical health care maintenance. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for optimal long-term health, similar to the general population. Transplant care coordinators at Froedtert Hospital provide support for donors for a minimum of two years and for as long as the donor desires.

More Information About Living Kidney Donation

Experts in Living Kidney Donor Care

Decades of experience in kidney donation surgery excellence make Froedtert Hospital a recognized leader in offering kidney transplant donors outstanding outcomes, exceptional after-care and life-long donation support. Dedicated transplant coordinators walk donors through every step related to donation and stay close to them following donation to support their recovery.

Our Living Donor Kidney Program is a recognized leader in living donor transplants, having performed these procedures for more than 50 years and provides the most cutting edge surgical techniques.

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Living Kidney Donor Frequently Asked Questions

  • Any healthy adult can potentially be a living donor.  The living donor does not have to have a blood relation with the recipient. The living donor can be a partner, friend, coworker, neighbor or even a stranger!

  • If an initial screening determines that you are a potential candidate, you will undergo tests for two main reasons. First, a set of tests will confirm that your body is healthy enough for the donation process and for life with just one kidney. Second, you will undergo a test to determine how compatible you are with your intended recipient.  Participation in the paired exchange program is the most common way that living kidney donation is accomplished at our center, even if the pair is immunologically compatible because the exchange program affords an opportunity to further optimize the match and avoid other risks that can decrease the short or long term success of the transplant (age or size discrepancies or kidney anatomy issues). In addition, special protections available through participation in the paired exchange program may make donation less stressful for the donor as well as the recipient.

  • Your care team will make sure that your kidneys, heart, lungs, circulatory system and overall physical and mental health are strong. Tests they may request for this reason include a urine test, blood test, chest X-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), psychosocial evaluation, cancer screening and computed tomography (CT) scan. 

  • Based on long term follow up data, the overall risks associated with kidney donation surgery are quite low. The risks are the same as those with any other type of surgery, including pneumonia, blood clots, side-effects of anesthesia and post-operative pain. The incidence of death within 90 days post-donation is 1 death for 10,000 donations.   

  • Transplant centers are required to report living donor follow-up data for two years, which will require routine laboratory tests and interaction with the care team. Your care team would like to be your transplant care resource for life and will be available to you for questions and care indefinitely. Donors are not more likely to develop kidney disease in the future just because they have one remaining kidney. In fact, statistically, living donors have a longer life expectancy than the general population. This is because the evaluation process for donors selects individuals who have above-average health.

  • The decision to donate an organ is one of the biggest you will make in your life. If the transplant does not succeed for some reason or you have resulting medical problems, you may have feelings of regret, resentment or anger and may experience anxiety or depression. The vast majority of living donations are successful (99% success at 1 year), and you can anticipate feeling positive about giving the gift of life to someone in need. Your donation also will help reduce the waiting list for other recipients.

  • When a kidney is removed, the remaining kidney will increase in size to make up for some of the work of the donated kidney. Many experts recommend that anyone with a single kidney avoid activities which could injure the kidney, such as kick boxing. Good long-term medical follow-up with an annual urine test, blood test and blood pressure check is recommended. Pregnancy following donation is permissible, but experts recommend that women wait at least six months and have excellent pre-natal care. Donors in good health do not need dietary restrictions specific to kidney donation, but maintaining your ideal weight through healthy nutrition and excise will help you maintain your healthy state.

  • Yes. Ask your transplant coordinator to put you in touch with others who have been living kidney donors through our program. Additionally, you can read stories submitted by hundreds of living organ donors by visiting transplantliving.org, sponsored by UNOS.

  • The recipient’s insurance will cover your medical evaluation, surgery, follow-up tests and medical appointments. Expenses such as travel, lodging, childcare and lost wages are typically not covered by the recipient’s insurance, but may be eligible for coverage though the National Living Donor Assistance Program (NLDAC) or the national kidney registry (NKR). If medical problems occur as a result of your donation, your insurance and the recipient’s insurance may or may not cover treatment. Your transplant coordinator can answer your insurance and financial questions, or can refer you to a financial liaison or other resource within Froedtert Hospital. Before making a final decision about donation, be sure to talk to your own health and life insurance carriers about any restrictions or benefits that may be available to you. It is also a good idea to talk with your employer, especially if you work for the military, police or fire departments or in very physically demanding jobs. A growing number of employers participate in the American Society of Transplantation’s Circle of Excellence, a program that extends salary support and job security for living kidney donors during their recovery.

  • Even with a willing living donor, a third of adult kidney transplant candidates will not match with their intended donor due to blood type incompatibility. Participating in kidney exchange programs, as we do at Froedtert Hospital, significantly improves access to compatible living kidney donors and a chance at receiving an optimally matched donor.

    Kidney exchanges also can dramatically decrease the time recipients need to wait for a kidney. The average wait time for a kidney transplant facilitated through the National Kidney Registry – of which Froedtert Hospital is a member – is an average of four to six months.

    How a Kidney Exchange Works

    In a kidney exchange, a donor is willing to donate a kidney to a recipient searching for their best donor. There are two types of exchange processes.

    Looped or paired exchanges involve two pairs of donors and recipients. The original pairs of donors and recipients match another pair. In the example below, the donor on the left donates to the recipient on the right, while the donor on the right donates to the recipient on the left.

    Kidney chains are more common as they improve the flexibility in making multiple matches. They involve more donors and recipients. Chains begin when a good Samaritan or non-directed donor steps forward and donates a kidney to an unknown recipient. In return, the recipient’s original partnered donor will donate (pay it forward!) to a different recipient, potentially being someone’s miracle match while making their partnered recipient’s living donor transplant possible.

    It is important to know that even when donor-recipient pairs are compatible, we encourage them to enter into the National Kidney Registry’s paired kidney exchange program to see if there is a more optimal donor for the potential recipient, or to gain special donor and recipient protections. This is included in the counseling of the patient at the time of evaluation.

Recognized as High Performing by U.S. News & World Report

Froedtert Hospital is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as high performing in three adult specialties and 15 procedures and conditions, including kidney failure treatment and urology.

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