Can You Donate a Kidney if You're Not a Match?

Learn about paired renal exchange programs and other organizations that facilitate exchanges for those who are not compatible with their intended recipient.

Can You Donate a Kidney if You're Not a Match?

If it's not compatible, you can still pursue donation through paired renal exchange programs. You can also contact other organizations that may be able to help you. These organizations facilitate exchanges and provide the opportunity for living donors to make a difference in the life of a stranger. If you have kidney failure, getting a kidney transplant may mean the possibility of living a longer, healthier life without dialysis.Recipients of a living donor kidney tend to live longer and healthier lives compared to those who receive a kidney from a deceased donor.

The donation process depends on the amount of tests requested from the donor and how quickly they can perform them. The National Kidney Registry (NKR) is one such organization that helps increase the quality, speed and number of transplants from living donors worldwide. Untargeted donors are ordinary people who decide to make a difference in the life of a stranger by donating a kidney.This paired kidney transplant allows two incompatible recipients to receive healthy, more compatible kidneys. If you want to be a living donor, you'll need to have a medical exam with blood tests to make sure you're healthy enough to donate a kidney.

There are also other donation programs through the NKR that allow donors to make a “remote donation”, allowing them to donate to their donor or any other donor closer to home and then send their kidney to the recipient's center for transplantation. Research has shown that the kidneys of a living donor can be stored in the preservation fluid for up to eight hours and continue to function effectively.The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is another organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention and treatment of kidney disease. Both you and the recipient of the kidney (the person who received it) can live with only one healthy kidney. If incompatible couples end up forming a chain, in which there are more than 2 donors and 2 recipients, they may donate and receive kidneys at around the same time, but not necessarily on the same day.If you have a living donor, but that person's kidney isn't compatible with you, you can still get a kidney transplant from a living donor through kidney exchanges.

These exchanges allow incompatible donors to donate to unknown individuals, in exchange for a compatible kidney that can help loved ones or family members. You should also meet with a psychologist and an independent living donor advocate to ensure that you are mentally and emotionally prepared to donate one of your kidneys.If you have two healthy kidneys, you may be able to donate one of your kidneys to a person with kidney failure. This is an incredible way for ordinary people to make an extraordinary difference in someone else's life.

Morris Bievenue
Morris Bievenue

Total internet geek. Hipster-friendly creator. Alcohol trailblazer. Certified food scholar. Alcohol expert. Extreme introvert.

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