Kidney Transplant Donor

(While still alive, some people with healthy organs (including kidneys) can volunteer or agree to donate their organs, after they die, to persons in need of transplant operations.)

Living Kidney Transplant Donor

Statistics continue to show a steady increase in the cases of renal (or kidney) failure. As the list of patients requiring kidney transplants continue to grow, the kidneys available for transplant are not enough to supply the demand.

Compatibility
When someone agrees to become a kidney donor, doctors cannot simply remove one of their kidney and transplant it to a kidney transplant patient. First, the blood and tissue profiles of both the kidney transplant donor and the recipient should be closely matched.

Compatibility of blood and tissue profiles of the kidney donor and the recipient, reduces the risk of the new kidney being rejected by the recipient's immune system. To further reduce the risk of kidney rejection, a regimen of immunosuppressive (or anti-rejection) medication must be given to the recipient, after a kidney transplant surgery.

The chances of compatible blood and tissue profiles are increased among close relatives. While it is possible for two complete strangers to have similar blood and tissue profiles, a close relative is a good prospect for a living kidney donor.

Criteria for a Living Kidney Transplant Donor
We have already mentioned the first criterion above... "the kidney donor and the recipient should have compatible blood and tissue profiles." Additionally, a living donor should be in satisfactory physical health.

If the kidney donor is seriously ill, then a surgery to remove one of their kidney could place them at risk of complications or even death. Consequently, before the kidney of a living donor is accepted, their physical health must first be assessed.

The age of a potential donor may also influence whether they are accepted as a kidney transplant donor. Younger donors are more desirable since their organs tend to be more durable. They also recover from surgery much faster than older persons.

Deceased Kidney Transplant Donor

A deceased donor may either be brain dead or non-heart beating. (Although someone who is brain dead is considered to be medically dead, their heart continues to pump.)

It is easier to remove a kidney (or kidneys) from a brain dead donor, without compromising the health of the organ, than a non-heart beating donor. This is simply because the heart continues to pump and maintains circulation throughout the body.

With non-heart beating donors, time is of the essence. Once the heart stops, blood circulation stops as well. Since oxygen and other life sustaining chemicals are no longer supplied to the organs, they begin to degenerate, or die. Also, coagulation or clotting of the blood can also begin to affect the health of the kidney if it is not removed and properly preserved, after a donor's heart permanently stops pumping.

It is extremely crucial for the kidney of a non-heart beating kidney donor to be removed and properly stored, soon after they die.

As is also the case with a living kidney transplant donor, the blood and tissue profile of both the deceased donor and recipient, should also be compatible.

If you, or someone you know, would like to donate a kidney (or other organ), please contact your local Health Authority for detail of the registration process. Donating an organ is not only a noble gesture but, more importantly, a life-saving one.

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