Living Donor Program

Living donation has become more and more important as the waiting list for cadaver (non-living) kidney donor transplants continues to grow. Washington Hospital Center, Transplantation Services, strongly emphasizes living kidney donation. Kidney transplants from living donors are more successful and last longer than non-living donors. Frequently, living donor kidney transplants can be performed prior to the need for dialysis. We believe every recipient has at least one potential living donor and that it is our duty to help the patient find that donor, whether related or unrelated.

We have pioneered the less invasive laparoscopic method of removing the kidney. This results in less pain and quicker recovery for the donor.

Many of our previous living donors are happy to meet with potential donors to share their experiences. Each year during Donor Awareness week, we hold a reception where the recipients have an opportunity to individually honor their living donors.

Washington Regional Transplant Consortium (WRTC) sponsors a Voluntary Living Donor Registry, which allows for several types of donation. A "Paired Exchange" is possible if someone who would like to donate to a friend or relative is not a match for the recipient. If someone else in this same predicament is not a suitable match for another recipient, a donor exchange between the two pairs may be possible. A "Living Donor/Cadaver Exchange" can occur when a living donor donates his or her kidney to the general waiting list pool. The friend or relative of this donor would then have priority status on the waiting list for a cadaver kidney. A "Non-designated Donation" by a living donor without a specific donor in mind helps to decrease the number of recipients in the general waiting list pool. Click on one of the links above to visit the WRTC web site and read more about these and other important programs.

One of our former living donors hosts a web site in which he details his experience as a kidney donor for his father. Please click this link to read Howard Greif’s story...

Please click here to complete the form, and we will send you more detailed information about the reward of living donor donation.