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Click on the boxes below to learn more about the kidney transplant process.
Margo & Kevin Klug
Each year in May, right around Mother’s Day, Kevin Klug, a civil engineer from Waterford Township, and his mom, Margo Klug of Hartford, celebrate their kidney-versary. They remember the day that Kevin saved his mom’s life with a kidney transplant.
Kidney Transplant List
To start the process of applying for a kidney transplant or for more information, contact a Michigan Transplant Center near you:
Types of Kidney Transplants
Deceased donation:
A deceased donor kidney comes from someone who has died and made the decision to donate their organs after death.
Living donation:
A kidney transplant from someone who is living, has two healthy kidneys, and chooses to donate one to a person in need is called a living donor transplant.
The living donor may be a family member, friend, coworker, neighbor, member of a faith community, social media connection, or even someone they have never met.
There are two types of living kidney donation:
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- Directed donation is when the donor chooses a specific person to receive the kidney. This is the most common type of living donation and often happens between family members, spouses or partners, friends, or coworkers.
- Non-directed donation is when the donor does not choose a specific recipient. Instead, the kidney is matched with someone on the transplant waiting list. This type of donor may also be called an “altruistic” or “Good Samaritan” donor.
Potential living donors must complete a medical evaluation and testing to see if they are a good match for the person who needs a kidney transplant. If a living donor’s kidney is not compatible with their intended recipient, some transplant centers have a “paired exchange” program. In a paired exchange, two living donor and recipient pairs are matched so each recipient receives a kidney from a compatible donor.
Who can donate?
Living Donation:
To donate a kidney, a person must be in good physical and mental health. Living donors must be at least 18 years old to donate at a transplant center in the United States.
For individuals considering living kidney donation, it is important to become well informed and ensure a clear understanding of the risks and benefits involved.
If donating a kidney to someone known to the donor (directed donation), the potential donor should contact the transplant center where that person is waitlisted to start the evaluation process. For non-directed donation, or donation to someone the potential donor does not know, the potential donor can contact any transplant center to start the evaluation process.
Donors are never paid. Under federal law, it is illegal to receive money or gifts in exchange for an organ donation.
Deceased Donation:
Sign up for the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. More than 2,100 people in Michigan are currently waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant. You can help those waiting by adding your name to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry.
Kidney Transplant FAQ
What organs can come from living donors?
Kidneys are the most common organs donated by living donors. Parts of other organs, including the lung, liver, intestines, and pancreas can also be transplanted from living donors.
What are the advantages of living donation over deceased donation?
Kidney transplants from living donors have several advantages over transplants from deceased donors:
- Better timing: With a living donor, surgery can be planned for a time that works best for the recipient, the donor, and the transplant team. This can help both people be as healthy as possible before surgery.
- A shorter wait: A living donor may help a recipient get a kidney sooner. If a donor is found before dialysis is needed, a “preemptive transplant” may make it possible to avoid dialysis.
- Better outcomes: Kidneys from living donors often work sooner and may lower the chance of rejection. A donor does not need to be related to the recipient to be a good match.
- May last longer: On average, a kidney from a living donor lasts about 15 to 20 years, compared with about 7 to 10 years for a kidney from a deceased donor. Some kidneys last longer, and some last less time.
Are transplants always successful?
A kidney transplant can improve quality of life and help people live longer, whether the kidney comes from a living or deceased donor.
Most transplants are successful and can last for many years, although outcomes vary from person to person. Depending on age and overall health, some people may need more than one transplant during their lifetime.
This surgery is common, and success rates continue to improve, but complications can still occur. In some cases, the transplanted kidney may fail because of rejection, surgery-related problems, or the disease that caused the original kidney failure.
A transplant does not cure kidney disease and still carries risks, including risks from surgery. Afterward, anti-rejection medicines (“immunosuppressants”) are needed for as long as the transplanted kidney is working. These medicines can cause side effects and may increase the risk of infections and some types of cancer.
People considering a transplant may want to ask the transplant team about the center’s success rates and national outcomes.
There is Guidance for Finding a Living Donor
Due to the length of the kidney transplant waiting list, potential kidney recipients wait an average of 3 to 5 years for a chance at an improved life. For those wishing to find potential living donors, the National Kidney Foundation has developed “THE BIG ASK: THE BIG GIVE.” This initiative features free, interactive workshops that educate and raise awareness about kidney donation and transplants.
For more information or to sign up for an upcoming workshop, visit the Big Ask Big Give workshop page.
More about Organ and Tissue Donation
- Anyone can be a potential donor regardless of age, race, ethnicity, or medical history. Anyone can easily sign up to be an organ and tissue donor on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. Potential donors are assessed at the time of death to determine what organs and tissues can be donated.
- Most major religions support organ and tissue donation, and view signing up on the donor registry as an act of love. To find out more about different religious perspectives on organ donation, visit United Network for Organ Sharing living donation page.
- Organ and tissue donors can have an open casket funeral, or any type of funeral chosen by the donor and their family. During the entire donation process, the body is treated with care, respect, and dignity.
- Signing up to be an organ and tissue donor does not interfere with medical care at any point in your life. If you are sick or injured and go to the hospital, the number one priority is to save your life. Signing up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry will not affect your health care. By law, the care team treating you is completely separate from the organ transplant team.
- In the United States, it is illegal to buy or sell organs or tissues for transplantation. Life-saving transplants are available only when a deceased donor or donor family has consented to provide the gift of life. Donors are not paid, nor do recipients pay donors for organs.
- There are certain criteria that determine the order of those on the organ transplant waiting list. When you are on the list, all that counts is the severity of your illness, time spent waiting, blood type and other important medical information. There are currently more than 2,000 people in Michigan waiting for a life-saving transplant. For more information or to be evaluated for an organ transplant, please refer to the list of Michigan Transplant Centers below.
Learn More about NKFM's Programs
Distance Learning
The NKFM offers evidence-based and scientific advisory board approved programs from your home.
Peer Mentoring
Peer Mentors are individuals who have walked the same path and may understand the kidney patient experience better than friends, family, and the health care team.
Internships
The CKD internship program provides a 2-8 hour per week internship in a NKFM office for people living with chronic kidney disease.