We perform many kidney transplants from living donors. A living donor is someone who elects to donate a kidney to another person, often a relative or close friend. Sometimes the recipient is unknown to the donor – this is known as a non-directed or altruistic donation.
Donating a kidney is a wonderful gift. Please talk to us if you wish to become a living donor.
Requirements for living kidney donation
As a living donor, we will need to perform some tests to verify that you:
- Have normal kidney function
- Are in good health
You do not have to be the same blood group or tissue type, or related to the recipient in any way to be considered for donation.
Hear from recovered kidney transplant patients whose lives were changed by living donors.
Risks of living donation
There are some risks involved in donating a kidney. It is important that donors are aware of any potential health implications that donation may have longer term.
Potential short-term risks
As with any surgery, perioperative complications can occur.
There have been reports of deaths in donors after transplantation in Australia but this risk is very small. The risk is approximately one in every 3,000 donors.
Potential long-term risks
In the long-term, donors appear to have:
- An increased chance of developing high blood pressure.
- A higher chance of developing some protein in the urine (usually this is at a low level)
- A small risk of kidney disease
Many potential problems may be treatable if detected early.
Read the latest evidence on high blood pressure in kidney donors from Canada and Australia.
There have been some studies of the life expectancy in donors.
Although some studies have shown different results, overall donors do not seem to have any reduction in their life expectancy compared to others who do not donate.
There has been difficulty studying whether there is a long-term risk of kidney failure (needing dialysis or a transplant) in donors.
Some studies have tried to compare donors with similar healthy people who have not donated as the ‘control group’. Unfortunately finding an appropriate control group is difficult, making some of these studies hard to interpret.
Overall, recent studies suggest that, while the risk of kidney failure is increased by donating, the risk is still very low - and lower than the rate in the general population.
Generally, where kidney failure occurs in donors it is due to:
- The donor having a condition that was not detected by current methods in the tests performed before surgery
- A new kidney disease developing in the years after surgery
- Rarely, due to either trauma affecting their remaining kidney or another problem such as a tumour developing in the remaining kidney
Ongoing care after living donation
To support your kidney health after donation:
- Maintain a healthy diet, active lifestyle and healthy weight
- Have lifelong annual follow-ups to screen for high blood pressure, protein in the urine and other cardiovascular risk factors
Paired Kidney Exchange program
The Australian and New Zealand Paired Kidney Exchange (ANZKX) program increases the number of living kidney donations by matching both compatible and incompatible donor and recipient pairs with other incompatible pairs across Australia and New Zealand.
If a donor and recipient are found to be incompatible, the ANZKX team can enter the pair into a database of other incompatible pairs. If a suitable match is found, the program will facilitate a kidney exchange between the pairs.
Live donors from other regions
We can support live kidney donors travelling from interstate or overseas to donate to their family member or friend living in Victoria.
Contact the Kidney Transplant Coordinators for more information.
300 Grattan St, Parkville, Victoria
Patient and donor stories
300 Grattan St, Parkville, Victoria