Kidney Transplant

Living Donor Kidney Transplant

Mayo Clinic emphasizes living donor kidney transplants as the best option for patients. Live donors may be related or unrelated to the patient. Living donor organs offer many advantages including:

• The living donor kidney is the best quality kidney that a patient can receive because the donor can be tested thoroughly prior to transplantation.
• Living donor kidneys last longer. Half of living donor kidneys transplanted today will still be functioning 25 years from now, whereas half of cadaveric kidneys will fail in the first 10 years.
• The living donor kidney can be transplanted immediately. The waiting time for a cadaveric kidney ranges from three to five years.
• Most living donor kidneys function immediately after transplantation, while many cadaveric kidneys do not function well initially.

All three Mayo Clinic locations are leaders in laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in which the donor's kidney is removed through a remarkably small incision. This procedure is safer for the donor, involves less pain and allows quicker recovery.

Frequently asked questions about living donor kidney transplant.