Living donor kidney transplant

Home to one of the largest and most experienced kidney transplant programs in the nation, the Penn Transplant Institute has a long-standing history of consistently successful outcomes for complex living donor kidney transplants. We perform more than three times the amount of kidney transplants through living donation than our closest regional competitor, contributing significantly to our region's transplant success.

Our Living Donor Kidney Transplant program is recognized for providing exceptional care that leads to excellent survival outcomes for both donors and recipients. We are committed to prioritizing donor safety and support throughout the entire process, and are actively engaged in research to make kidney transplantation safer and more effective for everyone involved.

For prospective donors looking to connect directly with a living kidney donor intake coordinator, please call 215-273-5074.

When you give a kidney as a living donor, you save a life. Thousands of people need a new kidney, but there aren’t enough available. In the U.S., over 90,000 people are on the kidney transplant waiting list and more than 4,000 people die each year while waiting for one.

Donors choose to give for various reasons, whether it's to help a family member or friend or to make a difference for a stranger. Almost all living donors—99 percent—say they’d recommend donating a kidney. Additionally, organs transplanted from living donors typically last longer than from a deceased donor, allowing the recipient a chance at a better quality of life.

Living kidney donor requirements

The safety of our living donors is our top priority, so donors must meet several requirements. In general, kidney donors must be between ages 20 and 70, have normal kidney function, and be in good physical and mental health. In addition, they should have:

• A designated primary care provider
• A support system to assist during recovery
• Health insurance

We take each potential donor through a comprehensive medical evaluation to make sure they’re healthy enough for donation.

What are the types of kidney donation?

Donating a kidney always benefits a recipient, but there are situations where the donor and recipient may not know each other. The three types of living kidney donation are:

• Directed donation: The donor knows who’ll receive the donated kidney. This is the most common type of living kidney donation, often between biological relatives who are a match.
• Paired kidney donation: If the donor and intended recipient aren’t a match, there may be a match with a different donor-recipient pair. The donors and recipients then get swapped, and each recipient receives a transplanted kidney. Sometimes, long chains of paired donations occur, which allows for the best possible matches for many recipients.
• Non-directed kidney donation (altruistic donation): A donor chooses to donate a kidney to an unknown recipient.

Penn Medicine partners with the National Kidney Registry, an organization that coordinates kidney transplants in the U.S. This partnership enables efficient matching of donor-recipient pairs.

For prospective donors looking to connect directly with a living kidney donor intake coordinator, please call 215-273-5074.