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.

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.

Contact UPMC Transplant Services

Thinking of Becoming a Living-Kidney Donor?

UPMC's kidney transplant team works with potential kidney donors and recipients throughout the entire living-donor kidney transplant process.

Before the surgery, we make sure donors can return to living full and active lives with one kidney.

If you're thinking of donating your kidney, find out more:

• Who can donate a kidney?
• Benefits and risks of living-donor kidney transplant
• Kidney donation frequently asked questions (FAQ)
• Passport to living-donation (PDF)
• What to expect: living-donor kidney transplant (PDF)

Learn more from UPMC's HealthBeat Blog:

• Living-Donor: Medical Mondays
• Kidney Donation Chain: Who’s Who?
• Can I Donate Certain Organs While I’m Still Alive?
• How to Register to Become an Organ Donor
• 6 Common Organ Donation Myths Debunked
• The Impact of One Organ Donor

Learn more from our Health Library:

• Living Organ Donation
• Donating a Kidney
• Becoming an Organ Donor