A living organ donation is when someone who is healthy enough, donates one of their kidneys or a portion of their liver to a loved one, a friend or anyone in need. Living donor liver transplants and living donor kidney transplants are important options that provide an alternative to patients waiting on the national transplant waiting list for an organ from a deceased donor.

Scripps living kidney donor program allows friends, family members and individuals who prefer to remain anonymous the opportunity to donate, sparing someone a long and uncertain wait and helping those in need of a kidney transplant.

Today, there are more than 110,000 people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant in the United States. In many cases, transplant candidates wait years for an organ from a deceased donor while others do not live long enough to get a transplant or are removed from the list because they become too sick to undergo a transplant.

Source: Scripps

In a living donor kidney transplant, surgeons remove one kidney from a living donor and transplant it into the recipient. Living donors are typically a family member or close friend but in some cases a living donor may give to a person they have never met.

If you’re interested in donating to Dr. Tyau, there are the following types:

Directed donation

In directed donation transplants, the donor names the specific recipient who will receive the organ. The donor and recipient may or may not be related and do not have to have matching blood types, but are usually compatible for the transplant.

Paired exchange donation

When a donor and recipient are not directly compatible for transplant, paired exchange donation allows two or more recipients to “trade” donors, allowing everyone to receive a kidney that is compatible with them.

Source: Scripps

To be a living kidney donor at Scripps, you must be at least 18 years old and in good physical and mental health. Some medical conditions could potentially prevent someone from donating, including:

- Uncontrolled high blood pressure

- Diabetes*

- Cancer

- HIV

- Hepatitis

- Acute infections

Psychiatric conditions requiring treatment

Individuals who smoke or use nicotine will not be considered to become living organ donors.

As a potential donor, we ask that you share all of your health information with us and you will need to undergo a series of tests to ensure that it is safe for you to donate and that it will be safe for the potential recipient to receive your kidney.

Extensive medical testing and psychiatric evaluations are an early part of the process because there are risks associated with every surgery, including kidney donation surgery. The Scripps Living Donor team will also make sure that the person considering living donation is well-informed of the risks, benefits and potential outcomes for the donor and recipient, and is freely willing to donate.

*Note: Recent changes to kidney donation best practices do not automatically exclude Type 2 Diabetics from donating.

The transplant recipient's health insurance generally covers the living organ donor’s medical expenses, which includes the donor’s evaluation, tests and surgery.

The transplant candidate’s insurance is not likely to cover other costs, such as:

- Medical care if your evaluation shows that you have a disease that you need to treat

- Long-term medical care if the donation causes you problems

- Follow-up health care for the rest of your life

- Lost income from the time the donor takes off from work to complete the evaluation, tests and surgery

Every health insurance policy is different when it comes to covering the medical expenses of donation. Be sure to ask questions about what medical costs might come up that may not be covered by insurance. Also, private and public funding resources may help cover your non-medical expenses. The Scripps Living Donor team will help you determine if you might qualify for these.

Source: Scripps

People can live normal lives with only one kidney. As long as the donor is evaluated thoroughly and cleared for donation, he or she can lead a normal life after the surgery. When the kidney is removed, the single normal kidney will increase in size to compensate for the loss of the donated kidney.

Physical exercise is healthy and good for you. However, it's important for someone with only one kidney to be careful and protect it from injury. Some doctors think it is best to avoid contact sports like football, boxing, hockey, soccer, martial arts, or wrestling. Wearing protective gear such as padded vests under clothing can help protect the kidney from injury during sports. This can help lessen the risk, but it won't take away the risk. Talk to your healthcare provider if you want to join in contact sports.

Donors are encouraged to have good long-term medical follow-up with their primary care doctors. A urine test, a blood pressure check and a blood test for kidney function (GFR) should be done every year.

Life Expectancy Not Affected

Living donation does not change life expectancy, and does not appear to increase the risk of kidney failure. In general, most people with a single normal kidney have few or no problems; however, you should always talk to your transplant team about the risks involved in donation. Some studies report that living donors may have a greater chance of developing high blood pressure. It is recommended that potential donors consult with their doctor about the risks of living donation.

Long-Term Health Effects

You will have a scar from the donor operation- the size and location of the scar will depend on the type of operation you have.

Some donors have reported long-term problems with pain, nerve damage, hernia or intestinal obstruction. These risks seem to be rare, but there are currently no national statistics on the frequency of these problems.

In addition, people with one kidney may be at a greater risk of:

- high blood pressure

- Proteinuria

- Reduced kidney function

You should discuss these risks with your transplant team, and ask for center-specific statistics related to these problems.

Will I be able to obtain insurance coverage after donation?

Your health insurance should not be affected by donation. The Affordable Care Act has made it illegal for health insurance companies to refuse to cover you or charge you more because you have a pre-existing condition.

Some states in the U.S have passed the Living Donor Protection Act, which protects donors from being denied life, disability or long-term care insurance after donating. If you’re in a state that hasn’t yet passed this law, your transplant center is able to, if necessary, to provide a letter to your insurance.

What if I donate, and need a kidney later?

This is something potential donors should discuss with the transplant team. Your transplant team will talk to you about any pre-existing condition or other factors that may put you at a higher risk of developing kidney disease, and consider this carefully before making a decision about donation. There have been some cases in which living donors needed a kidney later - not necessarily due to the donation itself. It is considered a potential risk of donation. However, UNOS policy gives priority for a deceased donor kidney for living donors if needed. If you donate at a transplant center that partners with the National Kidney Registry and for any reason, need a kidney after donation, you will be given priority for a living donor kidney.

Can I become pregnant after I've donated kidney?

Pregnancy after donation is possible but is usually not recommended for at least six months after the donation surgery. Living donors should talk to their ob/gyn and transplant team before getting pregnant about pregnancy and make sure that they have good pre-natal care.

Generally, living kidney donors do well with pregnancy after their donation. However, some studies have shown small increases in some risks like gestational diabetes, pregnancy-induced hypertension, protein in the urine and pre-eclampsia. Living donors should inform their ob/gyn about their donation to allow monitoring for these potential complications.

Source: National Kidney Foundation

After completing the initial screening process, a physician from the Living Donor team will discuss the donation process with the potential donor at length before any procedures are planned or performed.

The evaluation process for a potential donor could take several weeks or even months to complete. Thorough health evaluations including blood work, imaging, and emotional and behavioral evaluations require potential donors to schedule several examinations and appointments.

In especially urgent cases, when a potential donor is highly motivated, these exams may be scheduled in close succession. In rare cases, the evaluation timeline may be condensed into as few as three or four weeks, depending on the donor’s health.

Source: Scripps

If you’re not a match for Dr. Tyau directly, there are still options if you’d like to donate:

Paired exchange donation

When a donor and recipient are not directly compatible for transplant, paired exchange donation allows two or more recipients to “trade” donors, allowing everyone to receive a kidney that is compatible with them.

Non-directed donation

Non-directed donation occurs when the organ donor does not name the specific person to get the transplant. The match is arranged by the transplant hospital based on medical compatibility with a patient in need. The donor and recipient may or may not ever choose to meet each other.

Source: Scripps

Dr. Tyau is registered for organ transplantation at Scripps.

To schedule a consultation with the Scripps team or learn more about living organ transplant services at Scripps, call 858-554-4310.

You can also learn more about becoming a living donor with our online education class, or use our online screening tool to see if you meet preliminary criteria to become a living donor.

If you’d like to get in contact with Dr. Tyau’s family directly, you can reach them at drtyaukidneysearch@gmail.com.