Living Donation

Right now, thousands of people across the United States are waiting for a life-saving transplant — and many won’t get one in time. Living organ donation offers a powerful way to change that.

At University Health Transplant Institute, living donors help patients receive transplants sooner, often before their condition becomes critical. Whether you’re considering donating to someone you love or someone you’ve never met, our expert team is here to guide you every step of the way.

What is a Living Organ Donation?

Living organ donation is when a healthy person donates their whole organ or a part of one to someone in need of a transplant. The most common living donations include donating one of your kidneys and a portion of your liver.

How Your Donation Helps

Living donors play a critical role in saving lives. These donations:

• Help patients avoid long transplant waitlists
• Improve long-term transplant success
• Expand access for patients in urgent need

Because the need for organs is far greater than the availability, living donors help close that gap and give more patients a second chance at life.

Benefits of Living Organ Donation

Living donation can be life-changing for both donors and recipients.

For Donors

• A meaningful way to help save a life
• Emotional fulfillment and sense of purpose
• Comprehensive care and support from our transplant team
• Thorough evaluation to ensure your long-term health and safety

For Recipients

• Shorter wait time for transplant
• Better outcomes and longer-lasting organs
• Ability to schedule surgery at the right time
• Reduced risk of complications

Living donor transplants often lead to better results compared to deceased donor transplants.

Making the Decision to Donate

Choosing to become a living organ donor is an entirely voluntary and immensely personal decision, so it’s natural to have questions.

What are the risks of being a living organ donor?

All surgeries carry some level of risk. At University Health, your safety is our top priority. Every donor goes through a detailed evaluation to ensure the donation is safe, and our team provides clear education about the procedure, recovery and long-term health.

Who can and cannot be a living donor?

Many healthy adults can be considered for living donations, but not everyone will qualify.

You may not be eligible if you have:

• Certain chronic health conditions
• Active infections or cancer
• Medical or psychological conditions that increase risk

You can read our living donor FAQs to better understand the risks and recovery.

How to Become a Living Donor

Our transplant team carefully evaluates each potential donor to ensure the best possible outcome for both donor and recipient.

You will:

1. Complete a living donor questionnaire
2. Connect with our transplant team
3. Undergo medical and psychosocial evaluation
4. Make an informed, voluntary decision

You may choose to donate to:

• A family member or friend
• Someone you don’t know
• A paired donation program to help multiple people

You have the right to stop the process at any time before the donation.

Why Choose University Health for Living Donations?

From evaluation to recovery, our multidisciplinary team prioritizes your safety, education and overall experience.

We combine nationally recognized expertise with compassionate, patient-centered care.

Nationally recognized leadership

Our Champion for Life program earned the national Donate Life America Pinnacle Award for Living Donation, highlighting our commitment to expanding access to life-saving transplants.

Proven, high-quality outcomes

Our results for living kidney and living liver transplants meet or exceed national benchmarks, with data reported through the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR).