Living Donation Facts

Qualifications for Living Donors

Parents, children, husbands, wives, friends,co-workers--even total strangers--can be living-donor candidates.

Living donor candidates should be:

  • in good physical and mental health.
  • free from high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, HIV, hepatitis, or organ-specific diseases.
  • at least 18 years old.

These medical/physical criteria are very important for organ donation, but there are others. They play a critical role in finding good candidates for transplant. A good donor should also:

  • be willing to donate: No one should feel that they MUST donate.
  • be well informed: A good donor candidate has a solid grasp of the risks, benefits, and potential outcomes, both good and bad, for both the donor and recipient.
  • have good support: Significant others should support your decision.
  • have no alcohol or substance abuse problems.
  • have psychiatric diagnoses well controlled over an extended period of time.

Transplant centers must also implement a written living donor informed consent process that informs the prospective living donor of all aspects of and potential outcomes from living donation.




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