Who Will Be Your Donor?

Once your doctors feel sure that you are a good transplant candidate, the search for your new kidney will begin.  You may receive a kidney from 3 possible sources.  A living person related to you by blood may offer to donated a healthy kidney (a "living related"), or you may receive one from a living person unrelated to you (a "living unrelated" donor such as a spouse or close friend) or a deceased donor (a "cadaveric" donor).

The Living Related Donor

 For a healthy individual, donating a kidney is safe, and recovery is rapid. Having only 1 kidney will not affect the donor's health in any way. For your new kidney to work properly, you and the donor's kidney must be "compatatible." To determine compatibility, blood types are compared using the following parameters:

• ABO (blood type) compatibility
• Human leukocyte antigen matching, (HLA are antigens located on the surface of kidney cells. Because these antigens plays an essential role in the immune system, they are used to determine compatibility between kidney donor and recipient)
• Crossmatch compatibility
  

Living donors are usually from the immediate family-mother, father, sisters, brothers, or children.  They may also be cousins, aunts, or uncles.

The Living Unrelated and Deceased Donors

Occasionally, a person will receive a kidney from a living, but unrelated, individual, such as a spouse, in-law, or very close friend. However, more than half of all kidney recipients receive organs from deceased (cadaveric) donors. Because of a shortage in donor organs, the waiting period for suitable  cadaveric kidney may last up to 2 years.

When a kidney becomes available, certain patients will receive first consideration:

• Those who are more compatible with their donors
• Those who have been waiting the longest
• Those who are most critically ill