Why is living kidney donor transplantation the best option?
The Donation and Transplantation Plan for Wales 2022- 2026 has prioritized living kidney donation and transplantation for the following important reasons.
Your Transplant Unit can work up a fit and willing living kidney donor in a matter of months – a process called the live donor pathway. The live donor coordinator will explain every step of the pathway and guide and support potential living kidney donors through this process (contact your local transplant unit). The pathway is streamlined to make it as efficient as possible and minimize the number of hospital visits. The tests will take a number of weeks but sometimes months to complete and normally involve 5-7 visits to the hospital.
Who can be a living kidney donor?
Most living kidney donors are relatives or friends. Anyone can express an interest in living kidney donation. It is important to note that you can withdraw your consent and stop the process for any reason right up until the day of planned donation operation.
Your kidney and transplant team are here to support the recipient and can advise about ways to discuss living kidney donation with your family and friends. Any potential donor must volunteer themselves and contact the living kidney donor team independently and register their interest in becoming a living kidney donor.
Some health conditions may mean that the risk of donation is higher than average. However, the living kidney donor coordinator will discuss individual health and risks to health with the donor after they contact the team and return the initial health questionnaire.
What happens if a person agrees to become a living kidney donor for you?
Please let your Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)and/or transplant team know. They can provide contact details of local living kidney donor team.
Of course, the donor assessment is a separate process to the work up for the transplant recipient. Results from the donor assessment are communicated directly to the donor.
If the donor and recipient are not a good match then it is possible to consider the UK kidney sharing scheme.
Contact your Living Donor Transplant Co-ordinator
If you’ve decided that living kidney donation is something you would like to do, the next step is to contact your local Living Donor Transplant Co-ordinator. Your Kidney Team will provide contact details.
Of course, the donor assessment is a separate process to the work up for the transplant recipient. Results from the donor assessment are communicated directly to the donor.
If the donor and recipient are not a good match then it is possible to consider the UK kidney sharing scheme.