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 Some of the below links no longer work. I am in the process of sorting this out 🙂

Donor Types

There are different types of Living Kidney Donation.

1) Living Donation
This is where a kidney is removed from a living person. They can survive very well on the remaining kidney. Living Donation generally refers to donating to a relative, close friend or someone you know. You can read more about Living Donation here

Download a .pdf leaflet on:- Can I be a LivingDonor

2) Non-Directed or Altruistic Living Donation
This is where a person volunteers to donate a kidney to an unknown recipient, that is, someone whom they have never met or heard about and is not known to him/her. The benefit of this type of donation is that the recipient of the transplant receives a living donor kidney transplant from a healthy donor, which is a very good option for the patient. A non-directed altruistic donor can either donate into the paired/pooled scheme to create a “chain” of transplants or donate anonymously to a patient on the national transplant list to create a single transplant..
Read more about non-directed altruistic donation here

Download a .pdf leaflet on:- Altruistic Living Kidney Donation

3) Paired or Pooled Donation
Paired
Paired donation is where adonor and recipient are incompatible or mismatched with each other. It could be possible for them to be matched with another pair of donor/recipient in the same situation and for the kidneys to be exchanged or swapped. With this type of donation each recipeint receives a transplant that he/she would otherwise not have had. To give you an example:

Couple 1: A = donor – B = recipient
Couple 2: C = donor – D = recipient

A is not a match for B but is a match for D
C is not a match for D but is a match for B

so:

A = donor – D =recipient
C = donor –B = recipient

Pooled
Kidney exchanges can involve more than two pairs at once. This is known as pooled donation.
Read more about paired/pooled donation here

Download a .pdf leaflet on – Paired/Pooled Donation

4) Directed Donation
Directed altruistic donation is when a person offers to donate a kidney or part of their liver to someone who needs a transplant but whom they have not known previously. This is different from non-directed altruistic donation because the relationship between the donor and recipient only develops because the recipient needs a transplant and the donor becomes aware of it and chooses to donate specifically to that person. This may be between family members who have not been in touch for many years or people may make contact through the internet – for example on facebook- or through stories in the paper or radio or television.
Read more about Directed Donation here

5)  Domino Donation
Domino donation is a form of living donation where an organ or part organ is removed for the primary purpose of a person’s medical treatment. The organ/s removed may prove suitable for transplant into another person (e.g. a heart originally removed from the recipient of a heart / lung transplant).

Useful Links

FAQ Living Kidney Donation

 View this .pdf on the emotions of Living Kidney Donation

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106 Responses to “Donors”

  • Hue Diane how are you my name is Shuvai Shivai zhou a mother of 5 at the age of 4 0 plz if there is any donar who can help me financially plz I’m struggling

  • Diane:

    Hi Shuvai, I really wish I could help but I cannot. I hope things improve for you and I wish you all the best. God Bless and keep hoping xxx

  • Natalie:

    Hi Diane,

    I am looking into being an altruistic kidney donor. When I spoke to the transplant nurse I asked about future health after donation and she mentioned that pregnancy can be more complicated with only one kidney. As a woman of child bearing age I want to understand more about this before making the decision as to whether or not to donate. I haven’t been able to find any resources about the impact of having only one kidney on pregnancy though. Do you have anywhere you could direct me?

    Thank you so much,

    Natalie

  • Diane:

    Hi Natalie,
    Thanks for making contact. Here is a link which will take you to .pdf downloads. The second one down is for living kidney donation. It was updated 2018. If you download the .pdf and check the index, right at the end you will see the section for pregnancy and kidney donation. I hope it helps. I would also suggest asking your living donor coordinator to explain more about it to you or to make you an appointment with someone who can.

    https://bts.org.uk/guidelines-standards/

    All the very best
    Di

  • Natalie:

    Hi Diane,

    Thanks for this. I’ve had a read through and it’s been really useful.
    I am going to see the transplant coordinator the week after next so will ask in more detail then. Thanks again.

  • Diane:

    Hi Natalie,
    Glad it was of some use.I hope it all works out for you. If you ever want to contact me privately, you can use the contact link at the top of the page.
    All the best
    Di

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