Kidneys balance the amount of fluids and minerals in your body and create hormones
. When they are not working properly, people have to spend many hours a day attached to a dialysis machine to replace some of these functions. A transplant from a living donor can transform the life of someone with kidney disease enabling them to live life free from dialysis.
Did you know that you can be considered as a living kidney donor at any age? Donors are assessed on their own health and the suitability of the kidney for the intended recipient. Very importantly most religions support living donation as they view it as a gift to a loved one.
Kidney donors and recipients need to be matched by blood group and tissue type, so this can mean some people can wait a long time for a deceased donor organ that is the right match. People from the same ethnic background are more likely to be a match. Black, Asian, Mixed Race and minority ethnic patients often have to wait significantly longer than white patients, due to a shortage of suitably matched deceased donors from these ethnic groups.
People may donate to a particular individual (a relative, friend or someone they know who is in need of a transplant) or choose to donate anonymously where their kidney will either go to a high priority patient on the transplant list or create a chain of transplants via the UK living kidney sharing scheme.
By volunteering to donate anonymously to anyone waiting for a transplant, non-directed altruistic living donors can initiate chains of transplants that can benefit a number of patients.
To find out more about Living Kidney Donation and becoming a Living Kidney Donor visit - Become a living donor - NHS Organ Donation
