Have You Been Told You're Not Compatible?
You were willing to donate a kidney to a loved one, or you found someone willing to donate a kidney to you, but your hopes slipped away when tests showed the two of you were not compatible.
Here's your second chance.
The kidney transplant team at Nebraska Medicine has made it our specialty to connect people in far-flung corners of the Midwest to one another as large chains of donors and recipients. Living donor kidney chains allow us to transplant more healthy kidneys into people who might otherwise die.
As Nebraska's sole transplant program, we in February 2017 put together the biggest transplant chain ever in Nebraska and one of the largest single-hospital chains in the United States involving 18 people. Since then, we've done two more, and have two additional chains already scheduled for spring and summer of 2018.
We'd love to do even more living donor kidney chains.
But we can't do it without you.
We're looking both for those who need a kidney, and those who would like to give one either because you are not a match for the friend or family member who needs a transplant, or you're a remarkable person and simply want to give away your extra kidney.
While many hospitals thankfully also try to assemble these chains, there are multiple reasons why we'd encourage you to call us at 800.401.4444 about becoming part of a living donor chain.
Recipients of living donor kidneys are:
- More likely to live longer and have healthier kidneys that last, than if the person received a kidney from a deceased donor
- Receiving a kidney from a fit and healthy person who had undergone a rigorous medical evaluation
- Spending less time on a waiting list. That's important, as the average wait time for a kidney is about five years and climbing, and every day 22 people on the list die. Thankfully however, our wait time stands at about a year
- The longer you're on dialysis, the higher rate of medical complications, not to mention the time, energy and money saved avoiding dialysis completely
- Getting to meet your donor, if both of you want to meet
Living donors can look forward to:
- Honoring your loved one by allowing him or her to receive a kidney, by way of giving your kidney instead to someone who matches you
- The profound joy of knowing you gave someone a longer life, and gratitude of the recipient
- Speedy recovery. We use minimally invasive surgery. That means instead of a big incision, you leave with a couple sewn holes and a four-inch incision in your side. Normally, donors are in the hospital five days or less and back to work in two to three weeks
- Deep medical expertise. We've performed more than 1,000 kidney transplants using living donors
- Getting to meet your recipient, if both of you want to meet
How expensive will it be for me as a donor?
- If you're donating a kidney, the surgery and two-week care is covered by the insurance of the recipient. Normally that's enough to cover all your medical bills related to the surgery. You'd typically need to go through your own insurance for additional follow-up appointments
- Travel and lodging costs generally are not covered, but we do work with organizations that can provide or pay for those services
Ready to talk through the idea with our team?
Call 800.401.4444.
If you would like to be a living donor and are ready to start the process, here's the online form we'd ask you to fill out.
If you'd like to learn more about the kidney transplant process, here's our most recent PowerPoint presentation.
