Anyone who is older than age 18 and in good physical and emotional health can apply to be a living donor

A donor and recipient do not have to have matching blood types. Anyone who is older than age 18 and in good physical and emotional health can apply to be a living donor.

This is a safe procedure, but all surgeries have risks. Risks include:Significant bleeding (rare)Blood transfusion (rare)Return to the operating room (very rare, <1 in 100)Wound complications (rare)Developing high blood pressure (risk may be slightly higher for donors)Renal failure over lifetime (may be slightly higher for donors)Death during the surgery (very low, estimated at 3 in 10,000)

Kidney donation recovery time will vary, but most donors will be in the hospital two to seven days after the surgery, depending on the type of surgical procedure. Many donors resume normal activities about a month after surgery. Depending on the nature of work, donors may return in four to six weeks or less. If your work involves strenuous physical labor, your doctor may recommend waiting longer.

While there is no cost for testing prior to the transplant procedure, the transplant procedure itself or medical care involved in the transplant procedure, there is no compensation either. In fact, it is against the law for organ donors to be paid for donation. Choosing to donate a kidney can mean taking four or more weeks off of work, depending on the physical nature of your job. Some employers offer paid leave for organ donation, but many do not. We encourage potential donors to learn about their workplace policies and make an informed decision.

Tests ensure donors are healthy enough to donate. It is a very thorough evaluation. There are three parts to the donation evaluation: medical tests, education about living donation and review and discussions with our living donation team

A kidney donor chain creates opportunities for endless recipient-donor pairings. It starts with an altruistic donor - someone who wants to donate a kidney out of the goodness of his or her heart. That kidney is transplanted into a recipient who had a donor willing to give a kidney, but was not a match. To keep the chain going, the incompatible donor gives a kidney to a patient unknown to him or her who has been identified as a match, essentially "paying it forward."

ased on information currently available, the overall risks associated with kidney donation surgery are considered to be 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 risk of death is about one in 3,000. These risks are fully discussed with the donor during the evaluation.

When a kidney is removed, the remaining kidney will increase in size to make up for the donated kidney. Many experts recommend that anyone with a single kidney avoid activities which could injure the kidney. 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 usually need dietary restrictions, but maintaining your ideal weight through healthy nutrition and excise will help you feel your best after donation.

Crossmatching is a blood test conducted prior to transplant to determine if a potential recipient will react to the donor’s organ. A "positive" crossmatch indicates that the donor and recipient are not compatible, because the recipient’s body will produce antibodies that will immediately reject the donor’s organ. If the crossmatch is "negative," the transplant may proceed. In some cases, therapies may be used with positive crossmatches to hinder the production of antibodies and make it possible for transplant to proceed. You and your intended recipient may also consider entering into a donor exchange.