More than 100,000 Americans are waiting for a deceased donor kidney transplant. For some, a living donor may reduce their time on the waiting list.
Living kidney donation is when a healthy living person decides to donate a kidney to someone with kidney failure.
Living donation can be considered for a family member, friend, co-worker, or even a complete stranger.
Living-donor kidney transplant:
Since 1988, UPMC surgeons have performed more than 2,600 living-donor kidney transplants, establishing us as a national leader in this advanced, lifesaving procedure. We also offer donor exchange options, which provide patients with a shorter wait for an organ to become available.
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. Kidney donation is a personal decision and should be considered only after being fully informed of the process.
There are three types of living kidney donation:
UPMC performs living-donor kidney transplants at UPMC Montefiore in Pittsburgh, Pa., UPMC Hamot in Erie, Pa., and UPMC Harrisburg in Harrisburg, Pa. Each location combines specialized kidney care with comprehensive resources to deliver life-changing treatment options for patients.
We provide comprehensive transplant care — from your pretransplant exam to living donor and transplant surgery — for recipients with end-stage kidney disease and their living kidney donors.
Living donors can be family members, friends, or even strangers who are willing to help. A patient on the national kidney transplant waiting list and their potential living donor don’t even need to have the same blood type.
To be a living donor, you need to be physically and mentally healthy, with no history of illnesses involving any major organs, as this could complicate surgery.
To become a living donor, you must:
The transplant team at UPMC assesses potential kidney donors to ensure you are a suitable match for organ donation. We request that donors have a selfless motivation when considering helping someone in need of a life-saving kidney transplant.
Although many people wish to donate their kidney to a family member, you can also donate to an unrelated person.
In some kidney transplant cases — depending on a blood type match and other requirements — donors can take part in a kidney exchange or “swap,” also known as a paired donation. This means two or more pairs of related donors and recipients donate to each other.
Research has shown that there is little long-term risk or effect on a living kidney donor.
But, as with any major surgery, kidney donation surgery can include complications such as:
Death is very rare but has occurred in a few cases.
Anyone who needs a kidney transplant is eligible to receive a kidney from a living donor. However, the donated kidney must be a suitable match for the recipient to reduce the risk of complications after transplantation.
Living-donor kidney transplant services include:
During a living-donor kidney transplant, a surgeon removes one kidney from a healthy adult and transplants it into a patient with end-stage kidney disease. This procedure is possible because, although you have two kidneys, you can live a perfectly healthy life with only one working kidney.
UPMC offers 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 your transplant coordinator or living donor liaison.
Our Living Donation Liaison offers online training sessions each month to educate those who need kidney transplants — and their support people — on the process of finding a living donor. Participants learn about the benefits of living donation, common concerns, best practices, and ideas to start or expand their search.
By the end of the training sessions, participants will have a written plan for taking action. For additional information, please contact your transplant coordinator or living donor liaison.
Living-donor kidney transplants help save the lives of people with end-stage kidney disease by reducing their time or eliminating the need to be placed on the national transplant waiting list. Living-donor kidney recipients often have improved outcomes and a quicker recovery.
Living donors are given the rare chance to save someone else’s life and see their friend or loved one return to health and happiness.
During the process, living kidney donors can expect:
Before scheduling living-donor kidney surgery, you will undergo a thorough pre-kidney-donation evaluation.
The living kidney donor evaluation involves several steps. Potential donors will meet with all members of the living donor team during this process.
The team includes:
All potential donors are screened carefully to ensure they are healthy and able to donate.
This will ensure that:
The ILDA is a social worker who has received advanced education to be an independent and specialized advocate for living donors.
The ILDA's role is to ensure that living donors understand the entire living donor process and have had their questions answered. The ILDA will ensure that potential donors receive all the necessary information throughout all phases of the donation process.
As a potential living donor, any questions or concerns you may have about the care you receive from the transplant team may be directed to the ILDA.
Your living-donor kidney transplant nurse coordinator will provide details on how to prepare for your surgery.
We ask all organ donors to take basic health measures. These will help ensure surgery goes smoothly and reduce the recipient's risk of rejecting your kidney.
Health measures include:
The recipient’s insurance and UPMC will cover the cost of the evaluation and donor operation. The donor will not be financially responsible for any part of the transplant evaluation or surgery. During the evaluation visit, a financial coordinator will meet with the donor to answer questions about the process.
On the day of your living-donor kidney transplant surgery, we will admit you to the hospital.
You will meet with the kidney transplant surgeon and anesthesiologist who will:
After the paperwork, you will proceed to the operating room.
Living-donor kidney transplant surgery can take three to five hours.
Your loved ones can wait in the waiting area, where staff will provide frequent updates. After the surgery is complete, your kidney transplant surgeon will also meet with your family members.
After living-donor kidney surgery, you'll be moved to a recovery unit to make sure you do not need additional treatment. Afterward, you'll transfer to a transplant recovery floor where you may stay for a few days before going home.
No. You will not need to take any medicine. You will need to receive post-kidney-donation care at UPMC to make sure you heal properly.
It takes up to two months for most living kidney donors to recover fully. When you can return to work will depend on your job type.
UPMC's kidney transplant team works with potential kidney donors and recipients throughout the entire living-donor kidney transplant process.
Before surgery, we ensure that donors can return to living full and active lives with one kidney.
If you're thinking of donating your kidney, find out more:
When you choose UPMC for living-donor kidney transplant care, you will receive:
By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2025-12-09.
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