The ability to save a life is within you.
What is living organ donation?
Living organ donation is an opportunity to save a life by giving one of your kidneys or part of your liver to someone who needs it. While many donors and recipients know each other, either as family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers or neighbors, there are also donors who decide to donate an organ to a stranger in need. If you are considering donation, our experts at MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute are here to help. We are located in the historic Georgetown neighborhood of our Nation's Capital and see donors here and virtually.
Can I really donate a kidney or liver while alive?
Most people are born with two kidneys, but can lead a long, normal life with one. In liver transplantation, a portion of the donor's liver is removed and transplanted in the recipient. Donor safety and recipient’s benefit are our top priorities. Because of the liver’s unique ability to regenerate, both the donor and recipient's liver grows back to almost normal size several weeks after transplantation.
Why is living donation necessary?
Unfortunately, the wait for a deceased donor organ can be three to five years or longer for a kidney, and six months or longer for a liver. During this time, many potential recipients will get sicker and no longer be candidates, and 17 people die everyday waiting for an organ. A living donor organ is very high quality, and can be scheduled in a very short amount of time. Living donation gets recipients transplanted quicker with outstanding results.
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Living donation for kidney disease
For people with renal disease, the kidneys no longer function. Eventually, a person with kidney failure will require dialysis, a very disruptive and difficult way to live. While dialysis can perform some of the kidney’s functions, an even better alternative is to be listed for a kidney transplant. Compared to dialysis, kidney transplantation has been proven to increase the length and quality of the recipient’s life.
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Living donation for liver disease
Likewise, when a patient experiences liver failure, the liver no longer functions properly. Eventually, the patient may require a liver transplant to stay alive. For liver patients, there is no alternative, like dialysis, so sometimes a transplant is done urgently to save the person’s life. Nowadays, many liver tumors (both primary and metastatic) can be treated with liver transplantation. Living donor transplant provides the unique opportunity to perform these transplants at the perfect timing, without intervening with other treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation.
Experience matters. Transplants are nothing new to us.
The MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute is nationally recognized as a leader in organ transplantation and performs the highest volume of transplants in the region. This experience, particularly with complex cases and patients declined elsewhere, can translate into better outcomes for recipients—and peace of mind for donors, knowing our surgeons routinely handle these life-saving procedures.
We also prioritize donor protections. This means that living kidney donors who choose the Institute have access to several important protections not widely available. As the only hospital in D.C.—and one of the few in the region—offering living donor protections through the National Kidney Registry, we ensure donors have access to key protections, including wage and travel reimbursement and future transplant prioritization for family members. Learn more in the infographic.
Benefits of living donation
Any healthy person can donate an organ. You do not need to be genetically related or even know the organ recipient. Donors complete an initial questionnaire and then undergo an extensive evaluation with lab work and medical testing, to make sure they are a suitable candidate. Donor safety is always our top priority, and the transplant team will discuss any possible risks with potential donors.
As with any surgery, there is slight risk involved, but most living kidney donors go home the next day, and living liver donors go home in 3-5 days, and donors can return to normal activities in 4-8 weeks, with little restriction. There is minimal impact on a donor’s life and lifestyle after donation.
According to the National Kidney Foundation, for most living donors, life after donating a kidney isn’t too different than before you donated. You can return to work a couple of weeks after you recover from surgery, return to physical activity, and eat a normal, well-balanced diet. Your risks of long-term problems like kidney failure are very low.
Long-term risks and restrictions for living liver donors are generally considered low, as well.
Process for becoming a living donor
- Complete interest form and then online questionnaire to see if you are a candidate
- Speak with our living donor coordinator
- Undergo physical and mental evaluation, complete lab work, and any needed tests
- Schedule surgery
Hear from our patient stories
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Saving Father-in-Law's Life Through Paired Kidney Exchange Program: Des Lewis' Story
Des Lewis became a living donor when she learned her father-in-law needed a kidney. Des was not a match with her father-in-law, however she learned about the paired kidney exchange program, and was able to donate to a stranger. Thanks to the paired kidney exchange program, her father-in-law was able to receive a compatible kidney.
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A Good Thing That Came Out of Sitting in I-95 Traffic: Ryan Mehaffey’s Story
Ryan Mehaffey was stuck in traffic on I-95, and saw a bumper sticker for the National Kidney Foundation. He had just come from a lunch where he learned a family member needed a kidney. As it turns out, that family member only had a kidney stone and was not in need of a kidney. Ryan read about the large number of people that were waiting for a kidney and felt God was calling him to be a non-directed donor and donate to a stranger. Divine intervention put that bumper sticker in his path. MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute is the area’s only National Kidney Registry Donor Shield Program, providing a range of donor protections that are otherwise not offered in the region. This program provides a safety net for living kidney donors through a range of protections.
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Vox Article Prompts Kidney Donation: Lisa Junker's Story
Lisa Junker read an article on Vox.com about a reporter who decided to donate his kidney as a non-directed donor. Lisa's family history of diabetes piqued her interest in kidney donation, and she wanted to learn more. That is when Lisa discovered chain donation, which starts when someone donates a kidney to a stranger. That kidney goes to a recipient who had a donor on their behalf, but that organ was incompatible or is a poor match.
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Kidney Recipient Meets His Donor: Erik & Adder’s Story
A few years after Erik Lostrom had heart surgery, his kidneys began to decline. Having to live life on kidney dialysis was taking away from the active lifestyle he enjoyed, like boating with his wife. Around that same time, Adder Oaks decided to donate his kidney to a stranger after reading an article about it online. That stranger happened to be Erik. Watch this video to see Erik and Adder meet in person on Capitol Hill! Adder explains what donating a kidney meant to him, and Erik shares how grateful he is to have a new lease on life.
Donating Her Kidney was “The Right Thing to Do”
Why would someone donate a kidney to a person they don’t even know? It’s a question that living kidney donor Joy Julian has a ready answer for. “I felt it was the right thing to do,” the 27-year-old says about donating her kidney to 53-year-old father of four Mike Grimes through a paired kidney exchange four years ago.
A friend’s lifesaving gift of a kidney. A friend’s life-saving gift of a kidney.
Bernie (Bernette) Richardson was in her 30s when she first experienced a fever that wouldn’t go away. She soon learned that like her father and other family members, she had polycystic kidney disease. The condition causes cysts to grow in the kidneys and, over time, the cysts can cause kidney damage and spread to the liver and other locations.
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What are the benefits of living donation?
- Most recipients wait on the kidney transplant wait list three to five years and on the liver transplant list for six months or more. With a living donor, surgery can be scheduled within weeks.
- Organs from living donors experience fewer episodes of rejection.
- Organs from living donors typically last longer than organs from deceased donors.
- Recipients receiving a transplant from a living donor can better prepare for surgery knowing well in advance when the transplant will take place.
- The transplant can take place at a time that is convenient for both the donor and the recipient.
- Living kidney donation may enable the recipient to stop dialysis sooner or avoid starting dialysis altogether.
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Some basic qualifiers for living organ donors include:
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Why trust our experts at MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute?
- We have one of the most experienced transplant teams and highest volume programs:
- More than 340 deceased and living donor kidney transplants a year
- More than 120 deceased and living donor liver transplants a year
- Our patients have access to some of the foremost organ transplant specialists in the country.
- We transplant more minority patients than most area programs and have the experience to transplant people turned down elsewhere.
- We are one of only a handful of transplant centers to offer the management of recipients with incompatible living donors.
- We have one of the highest volume kidney transplant programs in the United States and this level of experience leads to better outcomes for our patients.
- We are one of the few programs to offer innovative liver transplant options including split and domino transplants.
- Visit SRTR.org and UNOS.org for program comparison.
- We have one of the most experienced transplant teams and highest volume programs:
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What are some common myths about living donation?
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What is a non-directed donor?
Some people just know they want to donate an organ to help someone in need. A non-directed donor is someone who donates without having a specific recipient in mind to donate an organ. This can start a chain of transplants that helps many recipients.
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How long is the donor in the hospital after surgery?
A typical stay is 1-2 days for a kidney donor and 4-7 days for a liver donor. You can expect to return to normal activities relatively quickly. The living donor coordinator will discuss the surgery, recovery and answer any questions you have.