Living Donation: General Information

All Living Donors

Living adults can donate:

• 1 of their 2 kidneys (most common)  
• Part of their liver

Transplant patients can receive organs from living donors who are:

• Family
• Friends
• Other people they know 
• People they do not know (anonymous donors)

Being a living donor has risks.

• Usually, living liver donation has more risks than living kidney donation
• Donors are screened for medical or psychosocial problems that could affect them after donation
• Only very healthy adults can be living donors

Living Kidney Donation 

We are born with 2 kidneys, but most people only need 1 kidney to live. People with end stage renal disease need a new, transplanted kidney. For more information on the living kidney donor evaluation and process, please see visit the National Kidney Foundation Living Donor Evaluation. 

Living kidney donors get general anesthesia before surgery to remove their kidney. After surgery, they:

• Have a brief stay in the hospital
• Will probably feel fatigued
• Can usually return to normal activities in 4-6 weeks
• Might have lifting restrictions for 6 weeks
• Might have driving restrictions while they take pain medicine

Risks of living kidney donation surgery are: 

• Allergic reaction to anesthesia
• Pain
• Infection
• Blood loss which may require a blood transfusion 
• Blood clots
• Pneumonia
• Injury to other organs
• Death from post-surgery complications

Living Liver Donation

The liver is amazing because it regrows. A living donor can donate part of their liver and it re-grows to normal size in a few months!

People with liver failure need a new, transplanted liver. During transplant surgery, their whole diseased liver is replaced with part of a healthy liver. (The donated part grows to normal size in a few months!) For more information on the living liver donor evaluation and process, please see visit the American Society of Transplantation Living Donor Toolkit. 

After surgery, living liver donors:

• Stay several days in the hospital
• Can usually return to normal activities within 2 months
• Have a normal-sized liver within a few months

Risks of living liver donation surgery are:  

• Allergic reaction to anesthesia
• Pain and discomfort
• Nausea
• Wound infection
• Bleeding that may require a blood transfusion
• Blood clots
• Pneumonia
• Bile leakage
• Bile duct problems
• Hernia
• Scar tissue formation
• Liver failure
• Death from post-donation complications