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Living-Donor Kidney Transplant at UPMC
Living-Donor Kidney Transplant at UPMC

Living-Donor Kidney Transplant at UPMC

Approximately 100,000 Americans are on the waitlist for a kidney transplant.

Living-donor kidney transplant:

  • Helps reduce the shortage of organs.
  • Allows people with renal kidney disease to receive a kidney transplant sooner.
  • Saves lives.

Register to become a living donor.


Contact UPMC Transplant Services


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Call Us

Call 412-647-5800, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

What is Living-Donor Kidney Transplant Surgery?

There are two options for kidney transplants: living donors and deceased donors. With some kidney transplants, surgeons remove the organ from a deceased donor. At UPMC, we believe in the power of living donation and consider it a first-line treatment option.

During a living-donor kidney transplant, a surgeon will remove a healthy kidney from a living donor — whether a relative, friend, or stranger — and transplant it into the person with kidney failure.


Become a Living Donor

To schedule an evaluation for kidney donation, please complete the “Register to Become a Living Donor” form below, and a member of the transplant team will reach out to you in the near future.

Register to become a living donor.

Connect with a living-donor mentor

UPMC is pleased to offer the opportunity for potential living kidney donors to speak with someone who has already been a living donor. If you’d like to connect with a mentor who can share their personal experience with you, please reach out to Cherie Peters, living donation liaison, at petersc5@upmc.edu or 412-215-2051.

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Life Changing Is ... A Lifesaving Connection

When his father-in-law David needed a kidney transplant, Ray stepped in as a living donor.

Read their story.

Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation

As the nation's first pediatric transplant program, the Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh has performed more pediatric transplants that any other pediatric center in the United States.

Learn more about pediatric transplants