At UPMC, we carefully evaluate potential living-donors to make sure that they can safely donate their kidney.
We perform comprehensive medical and psychosocial exams to determine risk for surgery and follow-up needs after surgery.
From the perspective of the patient receiving the kidney, the living-donor transplant process is similar to a traditional kidney transplant (where the kidney comes from a deceased donor.
For kidney donors, the process includes the following steps:
Throughout the living-donation process, donors will interact with a multidisciplinary team of kidney transplant experts, including:
This team will determine if you are suitable for living-donation.
If cleared to donate an organ, donors will be assigned an independent living-donor advocate to act on their behalf.
The living-donor advocate helps to ensure the donor is fully aware of what it means to be a living donor and understand the risks of the transplant surgery.
The living-donor advocate will voice any concerns of the donor to the multidisciplinary transplant team and will determine that the donor’s decision is fully informed.
