@IWantToBelieve - We covered this topic on our blog back in July. Take a look as I think it will answer some of your questions. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/newsfeed-post/is-there-a-cut-off-age-for-kidney-transplant/

@cmael I've encountered this issue several times over the years. In 2003 my father-in-law needed a kidney transplant. He was listed but we ended up finding a living kidney donor. Both my daughters were tested. They both matched and were potential donors. They decided which one would move forward with donation and which one would wait and pursue donation for me. I have CKD. When they had their transplant my father-in-law was 76 and my daughter was 19.
Now I'm 61 with stage IV CKD. I am listed and also looking for a living kidney donor. I'm becoming more aware and concerned about age restrictions pertaining to donors and recipients. Over the past 2 years of looking for a living donor only a few people have stepped up with willingness to donate. These have been ruled out for a variety of reasons. One was an extended family member cousin who was turned away because she was over the cutoff age to donate. She was told the cutoff is 80 and she was 82 at the time. I know a mother daughter pair who were told the cutoff is 75. Someone else was told 70. Another was told 60. A potential recipient was delisted for being 58. And so on .....
I was disturbed and frustrated by the lack of consistency so I asked the team at my transplant center (Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN). I was referred to the Transplant Toolkit which also had different answers plus varying providers' answers as well.
The bottom line is that there are national/federal guidelines but individual transplant centers may have different rules, regulations, protocols and criteria. At Mayo each case is dealt with individually. A whole host of factors are taken into consideration (age is only one of them) when evaluating donors and recipients for transplant. Patients are treated like unique people not numbers. This is something I appreciate and trust about Mayo.

Every center has different guid lines, it is harder on the donor than the recipient ( surgery ) that is. Try to stay positive a watch what you eat and drink, i was on dialysis for 13 yrs. before I was called.....if your not on dialysis yet, count your blessings.

I was told by my nephrologist the cutoff date to be on a transplant list, which I think was 70. Not sure, but I didn’t ask at Mayo since I had two daughters willing to donate. The daughter that is not donating has a diabetic son that may need her kidney at some point. Sending good thoughts for you to find a donor soon.

@cmael as a prospective liver donor the surgeon at Mayo Rochester told me that I was at the upper end of the age limit for donating. He said that he preferred the donor be under 55, (I was 54 during my work-up) but that the Phoenix clinic allowed up to the age of 60 so Rochester followed that recommendation. Due to anatomy issues I wasn't able to donate, sadly.

@jodeej Thank you so much for trying! The fact that you went through the work up shows a lot of dedication, thoughtfulness, caring, kindness and the list could go on. Please spread the word that living donors are possible and needed.

@cmael, I am thinking about you and your precious daughter. I hope that you are both comfortable in your recoveries.
Gentle hugs,
Rosemary