I want to donate a kidney to a kid. How can I make sure this happens?

@hockeyslade, Good morning and Welcome to Connect. I commend you for your generous desire to help someone through living organ donation. One of the first things to do is to find out if you qualify as potential donor. Here is the Living Donor Toolkit from Mayo Transplant that will give you some information to get you started with the process, as well as information about living donation.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/transplant/tab/resource-36/

Size of the organ is one of the criteria for matching organs, and I am not qualified to answer that particular question. You will be able to talk about this as you begin the process. @jolinda and @mauraacro Do either of you have any thing to say about this from your own experiences as recipient or donor?

hockeyslade, Do you have a particular individual in mind?

@hockeyslade, donating a kidney was one of the best decisions I ever made. No regrets at all. I'm so happy you're considering it.
@rosemarya had a good point about kidney size. One of the nurses said my kidney was, "man size". I'm only 5'1 and my kidney fit in my body but would it have worked for a child? I have no idea.
It sounds like you may not have a particular child in mind? I'm 90% sure if you want to pick a specific age, it would need to be a directed donation rather than an altruistic one. After you find out if you qualify as a potential donor, I think you would need to find the child that needs a kidney. I just typed in "kidney donor" on twitter and there are many people looking for a donor and all say who it would go to so you would know the age of the person. I'm guessing other social media sites have the same requests. I also know of people who have put notices in church bulletins and local papers, those may be good places to look.
You do not have to match the recipient, you can do a paired donation. For example, if the person you choose to donate to is Johnny but you don't match, you pair up with Steve who wants to donate to Jenny but doesn't match her (the transplant team finds the pair). As long as you follow through with your donation, even if Steve backs out, Johnny is guaranteed a kidney and continues to be your recipient.

AMAZING! I think it is wonderful that you have a heart for donation. The organ which I received was from a generous donor who like you had a strong desire to help other people. Donors like you are called "altruistic" donors because you don't personally know the recipient involved. Altruistic Donors can be some of the most impactful donors of all because they are often able to serve as the missing link in a Kidney Chain. If you are willing to donate to anyone who is the best match for your kidney the Mayo Clinic may be able to use your donation to start a domino effect that can help dozens of people find their perfect match. If you are healthy and cleared by the doctors to donate your gift could help many children!? Keep us all posted as you go through the process.

@hockeyslade, How are you doing?

Here is something that you might like to look at. "I Want to be a Living Donor - How Do I Start the Process?"
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/newsfeed-post/i-want-to-be-a-living-donor-how-do-i-start-the-process/

@hockeyslade I am an Ambassador of Hope for LiftGift. Contact your local LifeGift organization in your area and someone will walk you through the process. Meanwhile I can answer any questions you may have as I am a retired Perfusionist and have participated in many transplants. What an awesome person you are!