I Want to Be a Living Donor - How Do I Start the Process?

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Jul 13, 2023 | Kristin Eggebraaten | @keggebraaten | Comments (8)

Living donation is a wonderful act of generosity and courage, and the preferred alternative giving hope to people waiting for a deceased kidney or liver donation. It takes place when a living person chooses to give the ultimate gift of an organ donation to someone in need.

If you are interested in being a living donor for someone in need, your first step is acquiring comprehensive education about the entire process, including the surgery and recovery aspects. Our living donor toolkit will give you information about living donation and walk you through the decision process. The decision to be a living donor is a big one, and your decision to move forward should be carefully considered.

After arming yourself with knowledge and reaching a decision to proceed with living donation at Mayo Clinic, the next step is to complete our convenient online Health History Questionnaire. It is important to complete the form when you have adequate time to concentrate on each question. Completing the form on a desktop or laptop computer rather than a mobile device is recommended for ease and accuracy in completion. The form may ask you some personal questions related to your medical and social history. All your answers should be as accurate as possible to help our donor team better understand your current situation.

Once you have completed the form, the system will send it to our living donor team. If you qualify for donation, our nurse coordinators will contact you to provide you with more information. If you do not qualify for donation, the form will provide you with a notice on the screen and will not allow you to proceed with the questions. The donor team reviewing your information and caring for you is separate from the recipient teams. The donor nurse, doctors, and living donor advocate work with your best interests in mind. The recipient does not have access to your evaluation or your medical information. Remember at any time during this process it is appropriate to ask questions or express your concerns.

Our goal is to equip you with the most up-to-date information available, empowering you to make a well-informed decision regarding living organ donation.

It is important to emphasize that you have the freedom to withdraw from the evaluation process at any point. Your decision and the reasons behind it will be treated with utmost confidentiality, respecting your privacy and personal considerations.

As a living donor, you could be improving the quality of life to a recipient who otherwise would be waiting, sometimes for months or years, for a deceased donor organ.  This video gives you an inside look at some of the great outcomes we see from living donor transplant. Furthermore, your donation helps alleviate the strain on the deceased donor waiting list, thus providing a deceased donor organ to another individual in need. At Mayo Clinic, we express profound gratitude to all our living and deceased donors, as well as their families, for their selfless commitment to improving the lives of our patients.

HELPFUL LINKS

• Explore Mayo’s Transplant Center.
• Request an appointment.
• Connect with others in the transplant discussion group on Mayo Clinic Connect
• View our transplant toolkits on Mayo Clinic Connect