What is Living Kidney Donation?
A living kidney donation is when someone donates one of their two kidneys to a child or adult who needs a kidney transplant. Living donors can be a family member, friend or acquaintance. Some people choose to donate a kidney without a specific recipient in mind. People who donate one of their kidneys can live healthy lives with their one kidney that remains.The living kidney donor is matched with a recipient based on their compatibility that is determined through a series of testing. A donor can donate directly to their recipient if they are compatible, or a swap or exchange can be organized so that incompatible pairs can still have a successful transplant.
Making Matches
If you are considering becoming a living kidney donor, please complete our form and a member of the Children’s National transplant team will contact you to go over the process of determining if you are eligible to donate a kidney.
Benefits of Living Kidney Donations
The National Kidney Registry (NKR) facilitates living donor transplants and was initially created to overcome incompatibility between donors and recipients. The NKR now also has numerous programs that help make donation easier for donors including lost wage reimbursement, advanced or remote donation, and offers many other donor and recipient benefits.
Among the options for living kidney donation are:
- Non-directed kidney donations: Some donors may know they want to donate a kidney but do not have an intended recipient in mind. These are non-directed donors.
- Directed kidney donations: If you want to donate a kidney and are a match for your intended recipient, this is a direct donation.
- Family Voucher Program: This program provides the opportunity for a non-directed donor to give a kidney to someone in need of a transplant now while assuring their family will be protected should they ever need a transplant in the future. The donor may identify up to five immediate family members (spouse, children, siblings or parents) to receive a voucher for a future kidney transplant.
According to the NKR, becoming a living donor may be the best option for you if:
- You are not compatible with your intended recipient.
- There is a significant age or size discrepancy between the adult donor and the pediatric recipient.
- You are compatible with your intended recipient, but a better match is possible.
- You want to donate now but your intended recipient is not ready for a transplant.
- You want to protect your family members by ensuring they will receive a living donor kidney if they ever need a transplant.
About Our Program
The Kidney Transplantation Program at Children’s National is the only one of its kind in the Washington, D.C., area focused on the needs of children and teens with kidney disease. We perform 15 to 20 kidney transplants every year, making us one of the largest pediatric programs in the country.In cooperation with MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute, donors are evaluated and living donation achieved as often as possible. Our goal is to achieve successful transplantation for pediatric patients so they can resume their normal lives off dialysis.
Connect With Us
If you are interested in determining your eligibility to become a living kidney donor, please fill out our form and someone from our team will follow up with you.Giving Abby a Chance to Live
What began as lung complications for 18-month-old, Abby, turned into her being transferred to Children's National to find she needed to be on dialysis. After years of close monitoring and dietary restrictions, she had a kidney transplant thanks to a living donor.
