Could You Save a Life With a Living Organ Donation?

At this moment, more than 100,000 people are on a waiting list for an organ transplant in the United States, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). Many transplant candidates wait years for an organ from a deceased donor, and many lose their spot on the waiting list because they become too sick to survive a transplant.

That’s where living organ donation can make a difference, especially when it comes to kidneys, which are the most commonly transplanted organ from a living donor.

When a living person donates an organ or part of an organ, recipients see their wait times cut or eliminated altogether. Not only that, their outcomes are generally better. More than 98% of kidneys from living donors are still functioning one year after the surgery, and on average, they function longer than kidneys from deceased donors.

UF Health has performed live kidney donor transplants since 1966. Our team is committed to providing expert care to you and your recipient, but we’re also dedicated to helping both parties as they carefully consider so many questions:

• Do I qualify to be a living donor?
• How do I become a living donor?
• What is the process for the donor/recipient being matched?
• What tests will I undergo during my evaluation?
• What are the risks and long-term effects associated with donating?
• What do I need to know as the recipient?

UF Health’s Ashraf El-Hinnawi, M.D., and Sandra Demasters-Reynolds, MSN, RN, CCTC, from the UF Health Abdominal Transplant Program, discuss living donor process in this video.