Living donation is the act of donating while you are alive. It is a personal choice and offers another option for people waiting for a transplant, often reducing their wait time and improving health outcomes. You do not need to know someone personally who is waiting for an organ to be a living donor. Living donation is a personal choice.

The Basics

If you are 18 years of age or older, you have the potential to be a living donor. You must be in good physical and mental health, able to make an informed choice, and understand the risks and benefits associated with your decision. Most living donors donate one of their two kidneys. In less common cases, living donors might give a lobe of a lung, a segment of the liver, a portion of the pancreas, or a portion of the intestine. Additional information can be found at the United Network for Organ Sharing and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Types of Living Donation

There are four types of living donation:

Directed Donation: The living donor knows the recipient and specifically donates an organ to them.
Non-Directed Donation: Donating without knowing the person or naming someone.
Paired Donation: Two or more pairs of living donors swap for the best possible match. The recipients “trade” donors so that each recipient receives a kidney from a compatible donor.

Donor Chains: A chain helps a group of people waiting for a kidney who have healthy people willing to donate, but they are not a match. The whole group, or “chain,” of people waiting for a kidney gets help by trading living donors. More information is available at the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Getting Started

To make a direct, paired, or chain donation, talk to the person waiting for a transplant and their transplant program staff. If you want to be a living donor and do not know a person waiting for a transplant (non-directed donation), contact your nearest transplant center. There will be an initial screening, and the results will determine the next steps. You will want to get an independent donor advocate, and transplant hospitals are required to provide one for you. Lastly, consider requesting a mentor to walk you through the process. Our partner has a Transplant Mentors program.

Finding a Living Donor

The My Transplant-Ready workbook is designed to help people who want to receive a transplant navigate the process. While the workbook focuses on kidney transplant, the concepts are similar for other organ transplants. The workbook has a lot of information, resources and suggestions, including how to find a living donor. It is available for download as a printable file, a fillable PDF, or in print. Visit our partner’s page for your free copy of the workbook.

Finding Resourcess

Here is a list of resources that may help you make your decision to be a living donor.

Be A Living Donor