Living Donation.
You Can Save a Life.
Tens of thousands of people are waiting for organ transplants. Your help is critical to giving those in need a second chance.
Ending the Long Wait for Organ Transplants
Patients with advanced kidney or liver disease often wait years for a lifesaving procedure. Many do not survive the wait and never receive a compatible organ.
As a living donor, you can help someone in need get a transplant sooner, which in turn gives others a chance to move higher on the waitlist.
Living donors contribute greatly to the success of the transplant. Recipients generally have better results when organs come from living donors compared to organs from deceased donors.1 Living donor transplants are associated with fewer complications than deceased donor transplants and longer survival of the donated organ.2
Together, we can make a difference. The life you save can be someone you know.
LEARN MORE
Download our Facts & FAQs in your preferred language.
Kidney: Why Become A Living Donor
English | Chinese | Spanish | Tagalog | Vietnamese
Liver: Why Become A Living Donor
English | Chinese | Spanish | Tagalog | Vietnamese
A living donor is a healthy person who donates an organ, part of an organ, organ tissue, blood, or bone marrow. You can serve as a living donor for relatives, loved ones, friends, or anonymously depending on the type of organ donation for people in need.
Your generosity helps more people than just the recipient of your organ. Because your organ recipient can leave the national transplant waiting list, an organ from a deceased donor becomes available for someone else sooner.
1 in 4 living donors are not related to the recipient.3
Liver and kidney donors:
Direct donors for a family member or friend in need.
Kidney donors:
Indirect donors in a "paired" or even a “chain donation.” The donor's organ goes to a stranger in exchange for a compatible organ donated to their loved one. Multiple pairs of living donors and recipients may be linked in a donation "chain" to maximize the number of matched transplants.
Kidney donors:
Non-direct or altruistic donors do not have an intended recipient whom they know personally. As a result of their donation, more chain donations can occur. This is one of the most generous actions a donor can take.
The Critical Need for Living Donors of All Ethnicities
The chance of longer-term survival may improve if a donor and recipient are closely matched by shared genetic background. Compatible blood types and tissue markers are important matching factors and are more likely to be found among members of the same race or ethnicity.
More than half the people waiting for lifesaving kidney and liver transplants in California are Black, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native American. There is a pressing need for donors from these communities.
How urgent is the need for kidney donors?
- 90,000 Americans are waiting for kidney transplants.4
- Over 19,000 kidney transplant candidates live in California.5
- More than 10% of the people on the national waitlist live in the San Francisco Bay Area.6
Time on the waitlist
- A patient might spend up to 10 years on dialysis while waiting for a kidney.7
- The average wait for a kidney from a deceased donor in California is five to eight years.
Success rates of living donor kidney transplants8
- More than 98% of transplanted kidneys from living donors are still working well one year after transplant.
- On average, transplanted living donor kidneys have greater longevity than transplanted kidneys from deceased donors.
"When the kidney fails, it directly impacts the rest of the body, which is why it's critical for patients to get the right treatment quickly.”
– Patrick Ahearn, MD, MAS, Medical Director of Living Donor Program, Kidney
START THE CONVERSATION
Want to learn more about kidney donation? Our transplant team is available to answer any questions you may have. We have interpreters available in many languages, including Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese.
Call us at 650-498-8382
Complete a confidential interest survey available in English and Spanish.
The need for kidney donors among:
Although American Indians and Alaska Natives account for less than 1% of patients on the organ transplant waiting list, they suffer from disproportionately high rates of diabetes and heart-related diseases. These conditions put patients at risk for organ failures.9
There is a pressing need for donors in these communities, and you can help.
There are over 8,000 Asian American and over 500 Pacific Islander kidney transplant candidates on the waitlist. Asian Americans make up 9.2% of the total candidates on the kidney waiting list.5
Only 24.7% of Asian Americans on the waitlist for organ transplant received transplants in 2020. Asian Americans made up 5.7% of the total kidney transplants in 2020.
Only 3.1% of organ donors in 2020 were Asian Americans.
There is a pressing need for donors in these communities, and you can help.
28,000 Black Americans are waiting for a kidney transplant.5
Black Americans represent 35% of those with kidney failure who have been treated with dialysis or kidney transplantation.10
Black Americans have higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, and these health conditions put patients at risk for kidney failure.11
There is a pressing need for donors in these communities, and you can help.
More than 19,000 Latinx candidates are waiting for kidney transplants.5
Latinx people are 1.3 times more likely than non-Latinx people to experience kidney failure. They have higher rates of diabetes and heart disease, making them more likely to suffer kidney failure.12
There is a pressing need for donors in these communities, and you can help.
How urgent is the need for liver donors?
- 12,500+ people in the U.S. are waiting for a liver transplant.5
- 2,500+ Californians are on the waitlist.5
Facts about liver donation:
- You can donate a portion of your liver and continue living a healthy life.
- Your liver can regenerate within two months.13
Success rate of living donor liver transplants
On average, living donor liver transplants have as good or better outcomes compared to liver transplants from deceased donors.1
"Liver disease can affect anyone, regardless of race, age, and gender. For those individuals who are waiting for a liver transplant, living donation not only saves a life, but helps them return to a healthy life sooner.”
– Tami Daugherty, MD, Medical Director of Living Donor Program, Liver
START THE CONVERSATION
Whether or not you are sure you want to become a living liver donor, we encourage you to start the conversation and call our living donor team. We have interpreters available in many languages, including Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese.
Call us at 650-724-5672
If you are interested in becoming a donor for a loved one or friend on Stanford Health Care's liver transplant list, the next step is to complete our living donor medical questionnaire to determine your eligibility to donate.
Complete a confidential medical questionnaire
The need for liver donors among:
94 American Indian and Alaska Native people are waiting for liver transplants.5
Although American Indians and Alaska Natives account for less than 1% of patients on the organ transplant waitlist, they suffer from disproportionately high rates of diabetes and heart-related diseases. American Indians and Alaska Natives also experience higher rates of cirrhosis and other liver diseases. These conditions are known to put patients at risk for organ failures.
American Indians and Alaska Natives are more likely to develop hepatitis C; this chronic infection can be a cause of liver failure.
There is a pressing need for donors in these communities, and you can help.
More than 550 Asian Americans and 20 Pacific Islanders are on the liver transplant waitlist.5
Asian Americans make up 5.1% of the total candidates on the liver waiting list.14
Only 5.7% of Asian Americans on the waitlist for organ transplant received a liver transplant in 2020.14
While 8.5% of the total candidates on the waitlist were Asian American, only 3.1% of organ donors in 2020 were Asian American.
There is a pressing need for donors in these communities, and you can help.
More than 760 Black Americans are waiting for a liver transplant.5
Black Americans made up 22.4% of total liver transplants in 2021.11
Black Americans have higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, and these health conditions put the community at risk for organ failures.11
There is a pressing need for donors in these communities, and you can help.
More than 2,000 Latinx people are waitlisted candidates for liver transplant.5
Latinx people made up 16.9% of total liver transplants in 2020.12
The Latinx community has a higher chronic liver disease rate and liver disease is the leading cause of death within that community.
There is a pressing need for donors in these communities, and you can help.
Laparoscopy Makes Donating Easier With Faster Recovery Time
Our safe and minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure allows clinicians to manipulate surgical tools through small holes in the body to visualize the surgical area and perform the liver donation. Your surgeon will determine if you are a candidate for this type of surgery or the traditional surgical approach.
Read about Katie Gilmer Pon, who donated a small segment of her liver to her son and was well enough to visit by his bedside the day after surgery.
What Is the Living Donor Process?
1. Write down questions and concerns you have.
2. Complete our living donor questionnaire below to begin a conversation with the transplant team.
3. They answer your questions and begin providing guidance and resources as you go through the process. They connect you with an independent donor advocate, who represents your rights.
4. You and the transplant team have an in-depth conversation. Afterward, you decide whether this is the right decision. If so, the team will move forward with eligibility testing.
5. After testing, the transplant team will continue to work with you to determine next steps. If you proceed, you have the option to change your mind up to the moment of surgery.
6. Donation and transplantation take place.
7. Expect to stay in the hospital for two to three days after kidney surgery and up to a week after liver surgery.
8. We schedule a follow-up appointment with you one week after discharge, with the focus on wound healing and pain management. Additional follow-up appointments are scheduled post surgery, and we will continue to monitor until two years after surgery.
Start the Conversation
Whether or not you are sure you want to become a living kidney or liver donor, if you are considering it, the first step is to begin a conversation with our transplant team. We will explain the process, answer your questions, address your concerns, and determine if you are eligible to become a living donor. As you explore if this is the right choice for you, we will provide support. Potential living donors may decide it is not right for them at any point in the process.
Kidney Donation
Call our living donor team
Liver Donation
Call our living donor team
Resources for Potential Living Donors
Stanford Health Care provides potential organ donors with an array of resources to support them in making an informed decision about whether to become a living donor and as they go through the living donor process. Our social workers and team facilitate peer-to-peer appointments, where people considering living donation and those who have decided to donate can receive answers to their questions. Independent donor advocates represent the donor’s rights and provide support from the moment the donor contacts our program to after donation.
You will receive information on the following medical topics:
- Risks and benefits of living donor transplantation
- Living donor testing
- Living donor surgery and transplantation
- Living donor recovery
You will also receive information on the following nonmedical topics:
- Potential costs for living donors, like transportation and lodging
- How much time before you would be able to return to work, school, or normal activities
For further reading, the following organizations are trusted sources of information about living organ donation:
More Ways to Help
Explore all Stanford Health Care transplant programs that welcome living donors
Are you a Stanford Health Care employee? We support employees who become living donors.
We have a paid leave program for living organ donors. Learn about our participation in the American Society of Transplantation Living Donor Circle of Excellence. Human resources can provide more information.
Register to be a deceased organ or tissue donor
Live on in a meaningful way when you give the gift of life to a patient on the transplant waitlist. You can agree to give an organ, part of an organ, blood, or tissue at the time of your death. The organ or organ tissue (heart, lung, kidney, liver, intestines, pancreas, cornea, or birth tissue) can be transplanted to another person.
It is easy to sign up at the DMV or online. Join the organ registry.
1“Positive Aspects of Living Organ Donation,” American Transplant Foundation, accessed September 30, 2022, https://www.americantransplantfoundation.org/about-transplant/living-donation/about-living-donation/.
2"Living Donor Transplant,” Mayo Clinic, accessed September 30, 2022, https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/living-donor-transplant/about/pac-20384787.
3"Living Donation," Donate Life America, accessed May 19, 2022, https://www.donatelife.net/types-of-donation/living-donation/.
4"Data,” OPTN, accessed November 9, 2022, https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/.
5"The Organ Transplant Waiting List", Donate Life California, accessed March 29, 2023, https://donatelifecalifornia.org/education/how-donation-works/the-organ-transplant-waiting-list/.
6OPTN, accessed August 31, 2022, https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/.
7“Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program,” Stanford Health Care, accessed March 22, 2022, https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medicalclinics/kidney-transplant-program.html.
8"Living Donation,” Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), accessed November 10, 2022, https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/patients/about-donation/living-donation/living-donation/.
9"“Organ Donation and American Indians/Alaska Natives,” US Department of Health & Human Services Office of Minority Health, accessed August 26, 2022, https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=42.
10“NFK Highlights Disparities During National Kidney Month,” National Kidney Foundation, accessed May 27, 2022. https://www.kidney.org/news/nkf-highlights-disparities-urges-people-to-know-their-risk-during-national-kidney-month.
11"Organ Donation and African Americans," U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Minority Health, accessed April 18, 2023, https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=27.
12“Organ Donation and Hispanic Americans,” U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Minority Health, accessed August 26, 2022, https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=72.
13"Making an informed decision: Recovery from surgery," United Network for Organ Sharing, accessed April 4, 2023, https://unos.org/transplant/living-donation/.
14“Organ Donation and Asian Americans,” U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Minority Health, accessed August 26, 2022, https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=57.