Organ donation surgery process
How we support our living donors
From your pre-operative visits through your post-operative recovery, your team is dedicated to providing education, support, and the highest quality medical care throughout the entire organ donation process.
Before surgery, our team makes sure you know what to expect and feel prepared. We perform many of our organ donation surgeries using minimally invasive techniques, which reduces post-operative pain and speeds up your recovery.
What to expect during the living organ donation process
Your living organ donation surgery takes place at Penn Medicine’s new hospital, The Clifton Center for Medical Breakthroughs, which features private rooms for living donors. We use our state-of-the-art da Vinci® Surgical System for some procedures, which gives us greater precision for superior results.
Your team will explain every part of the organ donation process in detail. And of course you can ask questions any time. Here’s what to expect:
About a month before surgery, you meet with your surgeon and complete pre-op testing. The surgeon explains the procedure and organ donation recovery process and answers all your questions. You may also have pre-op tests.
To prepare you for surgery, your surgical team places an IV in your arm and gives you anesthesia so you’re asleep and feel no pain during surgery. They’ll also place a Foley catheter (a thin, flexible tube) into your bladder to drain urine.
During the surgery, your surgeon makes one or more small incisions. For kidney donation, the surgeon disconnects the kidney (usually your left one) and removes it through a 3- to 4-inch incision at your pant line. Kidney donation surgery takes three to four hours.
For liver donation, your surgeon removes approximately one-third to two-thirds of the liver, depending on anatomy and what’s needed for the recipient. The gallbladder is also removed as part of the surgery. Liver donation surgery takes six to eight hours.
After surgery, we transfer you to a private room. You’ll remain at the hospital for a few days so we can monitor your health. While you recover, we meet with you to review what to expect when you get home, your follow-up plan, and how to reach us with concerns.
Organ donation surgery isn’t pain-free, but we give you medications to manage your pain, especially during the first few days after surgery. Most donors find they no longer need pain medication by the tenth day after surgery.
Fatigue is also very common in the weeks after surgery, but you should feel a little better every day. Within four to eight weeks, most donors are back to work and most regular activities. Your provider will recommend that you avoid heavy lifting for at least six weeks.
We schedule your post-operative visit for three weeks after surgery to check your incision and bloodwork. You’ll have several follow-up visits after the surgery to ensure that the healing process is successful, and you recover fully.
The latest technology combined with compassionate care
Our Living Donor Transplant program has more than five decades of experience helping living donors make lifesaving gifts. We perform more transplants than any other center in the Philadelphia region and our outcomes are among the best in the nation.
Our team members share a passion for their work and deep respect for our living donors. You are our only focus during the transplant process. We take the time to get to know you as we guide you through every step, answer your questions, and connect you with the resources you need to support you through your donation experience.