Who Can I Give My Kidney To? You can donate a kidney to a family member or friend who needs one . You can also give it to someone you don't know. Doctors call this a “nondirected” donation, in which case you might decide to meet the person you donate to, or choose to stay anonymous.
What would disqualify you from donating a kidney?
To donate a kidney, you must be in good physical and mental health . As a general rule, you should be 18 years or older . ... There are some medical conditions that could prevent you from being a living donor . These include having uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, HIV, hepatitis , or acute infections .
Who can donate a kidney for transplant?
To donate a kidney, you must be in good physical and mental health . As a general rule, you should be 18 years or older . ... There are some medical conditions that could prevent you from being a living donor . These include having uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, HIV, hepatitis , or acute infections .
Can females donate kidneys to males?
Only in some exceptional conditions, male donor to female recipient kidney transplant may be successful and female donors to male recipients are not suggested , especially in aged patients with the history of dialysis.
How do you qualify to be a kidney donor?
- Blood tests.
- Tissue typing tests.
- Antibody tests.
- Pre–surgery health screening.
Will donating a kidney shorten my life?
Living donation does not change life expectancy , and does not appear to increase the risk of kidney failure. In general, most people with a single normal kidney have few or no problems; however, you should always talk to your transplant team about the risks involved in donation.
How hard is it to be a kidney match?
Siblings have a 25% chance of being an “exact match” for a living donor and a 50% chance of being a “half-match.” Donor compatibility is established through blood tests that look for matching blood types and antigens. The overall health of the potential donor is also of critical importance.
Can we live with one kidney?
There may also be a chance of having high blood pressure later in life. However, the loss in kidney function is usually very mild, and life span is normal. Most people with one kidney live healthy , normal lives with few problems. In other words, one healthy kidney can work as well as two.
Will I gain weight after donating a kidney?
Overall, among all donors, weight increased significantly following kidney donation from 79.5 ± 2.5 kg to 81.8 ± 2.7 kg at last follow-up (mean difference 2.3 ± 0.9 kg, P < . 0001) (Table 2).
Do you need the same blood type to donate a kidney?
Kidney donors must have a compatible blood type with the recipient . The Rh factor (+ or -) of blood does not matter in a transplant. ... Donors with blood type O... can donate to recipients with blood types A, B, AB and O (O is the universal donor: donors with O blood are compatible with any other blood type)
Can a woman donate her heart to a man?
The problem is not that women's hearts won't work in men . It's that a smaller heart won't work well in a larger body. “It's far more important to size properly — regardless of sex,” said Stephanie Moore, MD, a cardiologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cardiac Transplant Program in Boston.
Can you donate an organ to the opposite gender?
Can organs, eyes and tissues be given to different ethnic groups or individuals of the opposite sex? Gender does not influence the allocation of donated organs , eyes or tissues.
Can kidney donors drink alcohol?
There are no dietary restrictions following donation . Myth #7: A kidney donor can no longer consume alcohol following donation. Fact #7: While excessive alcohol use is always dangerous, a kidney donor can consume alcohol in moderation.
Is it painful to donate a kidney?
How much will it hurt? Everyone is different, but you could be in a lot of pain after the surgery . But it will get easier each day, and there are different types of pain relievers to make you feel better. Shortly after surgery, as your anesthesia wears off, you'll get pain medication through an IV into a vein.
What is the cost of donating a kidney?
This adds to the growing body of evidence that many living donors experience significant financial loss due to donation. Of note, median total costs exceeded $1000 for nearly 75% of donors , $5500 for 25% of donors, and $10,000 for 13% of donors. We also noted differences in costs borne by various groups of donors.
How long do kidney donors live?
Donating a kidney does not affect a person's life expectancy. On the contrary, studies show that people who donate a kidney outlive the average population. Twenty years after donating , 85 percent of kidney donors were still alive, while the expected survival rate was 66 percent.
