Kidney Donors Save Lives

Benefits of Living Donation

Nearly 100,000 people are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. There are many benefits to becoming a living donor. One of the most obvious benefits is that you can save a life, or drastically improve the quality of life for the recipient.

Long-term survival is markedly improved among patients who receive a donor kidney compared with patients who remain on dialysis. When a recipient has a living donor, the wait time for transplant is shorter and the transplant can be scheduled. This allows for donations to take place when the recipient is in good health and when it is convenient for both the donor and the recipient, such as summer vacation or winter break.

Live organs that are transplanted last longer than cadaveric organs, and live organs begin to function more quickly than cadaveric donations. This helps ease the process for the recipient and frees up a cadaveric kidney for another recipient.

Many more people are waiting for a kidney than for all other organs combined. Unfortunately, the number of people waiting for kidneys is much larger than the number of available kidneys from living and deceased donors. Click on the link below for more info on kidney donation.

Kidney Donation