Living Donation FAQs
Is there a difference between having a transplant from a living or deceased donor?
Yes. Living donor transplants last longer. Generally living donor transplants last 15 years and deceased donor transplants last 10 years.
How quickly can a living donor transplant happen?
If a living donor is available, evaluation and transplantation can happen within a year. With a deceased donor transplant, on average most patients have to wait 4 years until a kidney is available from the list.
Who can be a living donor?
A volunteer who is physically healthy, doesn’t have kidney disease, and has a blood type that matches the patient can be evaluated as a living donor. Donors can be family members, friends, neighbors or even fellow church members. Donors do not have to be the same race or sex as the recipient.
What kind of tests do donors have to take to be evaluated?
All of the tests are outpatient and include blood work, heart and lung function, urine samples, etc. Women have a Pap smear and mammogram and donors over 50 years old need a colonoscopy. They will make sure the donor is very healthy before moving forward.
What is the donor surgery like?
The donor and recipient are admitted to the hospital the day before the surgery. Both surgeries take place at the same time and take several hours to complete. The donor’s surgeon makes a small cut in the donor’s belly or back to remove the kidney. After the donor’s kidney is removed, the recipient’s surgical team connects the kidney into the recipient’s body right away.
What is recovery like after a transplant and how long does it take?
The average hospital stay for donors is one week. After leaving the hospital, donors have to rest at home, usually for about a week, while their body heals. Over time, they start to feel better and are able to do more. Most donors can drive and return to their normal lives in a month.
How bad is the surgical pain?
Donors usually feel the most pain the first week after surgery. Donors will take medication for any pain they have. However, the pain is usually gone or greatly reduced within one week.
What does the donor have to do after the transplant to take care of his or her health?
Donors have check-ups with the transplant center to make sure that they are healing well after surgery. After they have recovered, donors return to the care of their regular physician. Other than a small scar, donors return to their normal lives and activities.