Donating a kidney is a huge decision, especially when you’re considering donating to a stranger.
If you saw my recent Facebook post, you know why living kidney donation is so important to my family.
If you didn’t see it, you can check it out here.
If you are thinking about being a living kidney donor for someone in need, I encourage you to read this post and then explore the countless resources you can find online.
You can learn a ton about the process from GW University Hospital and here too: National Kidney Fund
What You Need to Know About Donating a Kidney
Why Kidney Disease is So Important to Us
For most people, it is a relatively slow moving disease and many people live their entire lives with it without developing End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).
It was a troubling discovery to make at such a young age and resulted in a high risk pregnancy scenario while carrying my youngest son but, at the end of the day, I have been very responsive to medication and haven’t suffered any loss of kidney function.
Why Live Kidney Donation is Important
Receiving a donation from a living donor can have huge, positive impacts for the recipient.
- Live donor recipients spend less time waiting for a donor organ.
- Immediately upon transplantation, 97% of live donor kidneys are fully functional, versus 50-60% of deceased donor kidneys.
- Live donor recipients face less risk of organ rejection.
Receiving a donation from a living donor means that patients with End Stage Renal Disease won’t have to spend years sick, in dialysis waiting for a kidney. It also means that their kidney will likely last longer, keeping them healthy and away from going through the donation process again.
You can learn more here: Why Living Donation is Important
Donating a kidney is a relatively low risk experience.
You don’t have to pay for it.
And neither does your insurance.
Kidney donation surgery, including screening and post-op, is covered by the insurance of the person receiving your kidney.