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Many patients die every day while waiting for a kidney donation from a deceased donor.  Fortunately, donor-patient matching services are now available for matching living donors to patients.  (The most successful of such services is MatchingDonors.com.)
Live donors donate their kidneys for different reasons.  People who donate to a loved one obviously donate out of love.  Then there are those that donate a valuable kidney to complete strangers out of a genuine desire to help out a fellow human being.  No matter what the motivation is, all donors have one thing in common – not a single one regrets having done this act of ultimate kindness and love.

So what does it take to be a kidney transplant donor?  Here are some kidney transplant donor requirements:

1)Blood Type – No matter what your blood type is, there are bound to be compatible patients amongst the tens of thousands that are waiting for a kidney.  However, if you’re wanting to donate to a certain person in particular, then you must be of a compatible blood type.  Type O donors can donate to a person of any blood type.  Type A’s can donate to type A’s or type B’s.  Type B’s can donate to type B’s or AB’s.  Type AB’s can only donate to other type AB’s.

2)Age – You must be between the age of 18 and the early 70s in order to donate.

3)Physical Evaluation – A donor needs to be in good health at the time of donation.  There are no strict rules and every donor is assessed on an individual basis, but typical conditions that can cause a potential donor to be disqualified include kidney disease, HIV, hepatitis, cancer, and high blood pressure.

To check for the above conditions and more, a potential kidney donor is required to undergo a series of medical tests, which may include amongst others EKG, chest x-ray, urine test, and CT scan or angiogram.  Further testing may be required depending on the results of the first round of testing.

4)Psychological Evaluation – A psychological evaluation by a clinical social worker is conducted, and the results are reviewed in combination with the physical testing results by medical professionals in order to determine the suitability of the potential donor for kidney donation.

To find a kidney transplant donor, or be a donor yourself, please go to MatchingDonors.com for more information.