If you would like to discuss your kidney diagnosis with our trained members of staff, ring our free-to-call number. The NKF Helpline is available Monday to Thursday 08:30 am - 5:00 pm Friday 8.30 am – 12.30 pm on 0800 169 09 36 or email [email protected]

Becoming a Living Kidney Donor

Living kidney donation is one of the most generous and life-changing gifts a person can offer. In the UK, many people with kidney failure rely on a transplant to regain their health, yet there are still more people waiting than there are kidneys available.

According to NHS Blood and Transplant, around 900–1,000 people donate a kidney each year while alive. Living donation is therefore a vital part of transplantation in the UK and internationally. Evidence consistently shows that, for many patients with kidney failure, a transplant from a living donor offers the best outcomes.

Carefully selected kidney donors are generally able to live long, healthy, and active lives with a single kidney. While there is a slight increase in the lifetime risk of kidney disease compared to very healthy non-donors, the overall risk remains low. This risk may be higher if the recipient’s kidney failure has a genetic cause and the donor is a blood relative. However, a thorough donor evaluation process ensures that only individuals at low risk proceed with kidney donation.

 

Why Living Kidney Donation Matters

For many people with kidney failure, a transplant is the best treatment option. Compared with dialysis, kidney transplantation improves survival, quality of life, and the ability to return to normal daily activities.

Kidneys from living donors are usually healthier and perform better than those from deceased donors. They often start working immediately and last longer, on average 15-20 years, compared with around 10-15 years for deceased donor kidneys. Studies also show lower rates of transplant failure in the first 5 years and more years of good kidney function overall.

Living donation can significantly reduce waiting times. While patients waiting for a deceased donor kidney may wait several years, a living donor transplant can often be arranged within a few months once assessment is complete. Because the timing can be planned, transplantation may even take place before dialysis is needed, which is associated with better outcomes.

In addition, every living donor transplant helps reduce the waiting list for others.

 

Who Can Become a Living Donor?

Living donors can be:

• Family members
• Partners or friends
• People who choose to donate to someone they do not know (altruistic donors)

In general, donors need to be:

• In good overall health
• Aged 18 or over
• Willing to donate

Transplant programmes safely choose a wide range of donors, including older individuals and those who are not biologically related to the recipient. Kidney-sharing schemes also allow compatible matches between different donor–recipient pairs.

Most people live normal, healthy lives with one kidney. Before donation, careful checks will be carried out to make sure it is safe for you to donate.

 

The Assessment Process

Becoming a living kidney donor involves a thorough assessment to ensure your safety and suitability.

1. Initial Contact and Information
You will speak with a transplant team and receive clear information about the process, including risks, benefits, and recovery.

2. Health Questionnaire Review
You will complete a medical questionnaire to help determine whether it is appropriate to proceed.

3. Screening and Compatibility Tests
If suitable, you will undergo a series of tests, including:

• Blood and urine tests
• Blood pressure checks
• Heart tests (ECG)
• Kidney imaging scans
• Blood group and tissue matching

These tests ensure your kidneys are healthy and that donation is safe.

4. Clinical Consultations

Donors will be reviewed by transplant medical and surgical team to check the results and overall fitness.

5. Decision and Planning
If all results are satisfactory, the transplant can be planned at a time that suits both the donor and the recipient.

 

The Donation Surgery

The operation is usually performed using keyhole (laparoscopic) surgery under general anaesthetic. Most donors stay in hospital for 2–4 days and recover over about 4–6 weeks before returning to normal activities.

 

Long-Term Follow-Up

After donation, you will have yearly follow-up appointments to monitor your kidney function and overall health. These check-ups help ensure that any potential issues are identified early.

 

Why Choose to Donate?

Living kidney donation can save or transform someone’s life. It offers recipients better long-term health, reduces time spent waiting for a transplant, and may even allow transplantation before dialysis is needed.

For donors, it provides the knowledge that they have made a lasting and meaningful difference. Many describe it as one of the most rewarding decisions they have ever made.

Written April 2026
Next review April 2029

Dr Oluwafemi Efuntoye 
Renal Specialty Registrar,
University Hospital Birmingham & 
Prof. Nithya Krishnan, Consultant Transplant Nephrologist, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and Professor, Centre of Health & Community Care, Coventry University

The National Kidney Federation cannot accept responsibility for information provided. The above is for guidance only. Patients are advised to seek further information from their own doctor.