Living Kidney Donors for Kidney Transplantation

In the United States, the average kidney patient waits more than five years for an organ to become available for transplant. The tragic result: 19 people die every day waiting for the organ that never becomes available.

Kidney transplants are truly a miracle of modern medicine; today there are more than 150,000 people in the United States living active, full lives after receiving a kidney transplant.

Living Donors

One of the first questions a kidney transplant patient must address is when to have the transplant. For patients not yet on dialysis, the evidence indicates that the opportunity for a successful outcome is substantially enhanced by a preemptive transplant, precluding dialysis.

Additionally, available evidence suggests transplant outcomes are superior for patients with less time on dialysis. Clinical studies reveal that the longer a patient is on dialysis, the greater the risk of cardiovascular damage, an outcome that may negatively impact a transplant patient's viability as a candidate for kidney transplant.

Data from UNOS kidney transplants in the U.S from 1996 to 2006 demonstrates that the transplanted kidney, or "graft," has better odds of surviving if from a living donor.

Benefits of Working with a Living Kidney Donor

More than one-third of all kidney transplants in the United States are made possible by living donors.

• The waiting time for the transplant recipient can be significantly reduced
• The procedure can be scheduled according to the convenience of both the donor and recipient
• The quality of organs from live donors tends to be superior to organs from deceased donors
• There is less rejection and lower doses of anti-rejection drugs
• Transplantation has been shown to be less costly than dialysis over the long run

Resources

• National Foundation for Transplants
• The Kidney Advocate
• National Kidney Foundation - Living Donor Council
• American Kidney Fund
• "I Hate Dialysis" online community

Angeles can help

When you work with Angeles Health, a Physician Case Manager will work directly with you to help you navigate the process of identifying a match through ethical living donor resources.