Living donation
Living-donor kidney transplant: questions before assumptions.
A living donor may create a different scheduling and evaluation path, but neither a patient nor a potential donor should assume an outcome. The recipient and donor have separate questions and safeguards.
The short answer.
The recipient speaks with a transplant program about candidacy. The potential donor undergoes an independent evaluation focused on the donor’s health and informed choice. A program explains its own process. HRSA explains kidney evaluation and listing.
Keep recipient and donor paths separate.
Recipient questions
- How would a living donor change scheduling or evaluation?
- What does my program need from me?
- Who explains my candidacy and next steps?
Potential donor questions
- Who can I contact for an independent evaluation?
- What risks, testing, time, and follow-up should I understand?
- Who can I talk with privately about concerns or changing my mind?
A donation decision must be voluntary.
Potential donors should have space to ask questions privately and decide without pressure. A relationship, financial concern, or hope for a particular outcome should not replace independent counseling and program guidance. Ask the donor team what confidentiality and support look like.
Ask about program-specific paths.
Some programs may discuss paired exchange or other donation pathways when a direct match is not possible. HRSA explains kidney paired donation. Ask the transplant program whether such a path exists and what it involves. Do not treat this page as a promise that a pathway is available.
Choose your next question.
Follow your care team’s instructions; for urgent symptoms, contact local emergency services.
Sources and boundaries.
Transplant Check cannot match donors, evaluate health, give legal or medical advice, or pressure a donation decision. HRSA/OPTN kidney FAQ · NIDDK: Kidney transplant.