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Our surgical experts offer state-of-the-art, personalized care for living-donor kidney transplant patients and recipients.
Telehealth appointments are available.
Our USC Living-Donor Kidney Transplant Program team is committed to providing advanced, empathetic care for living-donor kidney transplant recipients and living kidney donors.
We specialize in kidney transplants for people with a full range of renal conditions, including advanced kidney disease, end-stage kidney disease and kidney failure.
As trusted leaders and innovators in the field of living-donor kidney transplant surgery, our physicians use the latest surgical techniques, such as single-port laparoscopic procedures and robotic-assisted nephrectomies. We also provide many organ donation pathways for living-donor kidney recipients and donors, including:
Our highly experienced doctors, nurses and transplant coordinators understand the challenges of living-donor kidney transplant surgery and are dedicated to helping you manage every step of your care journey. As part of our patient-centered approach to care, we give you access to Donate Well, an innovative program that helps donors improve their health and prepare for transplant surgery.
Our renowned doctors are a trusted team, locally and nationally, for referring physicians. We also specialize in helping organ transplant patients and donors with complex kidney issues or who may not qualify for transplant care at other programs.
You can count on our doctors and clinicians to offer comprehensive and compassionate medical care for living-donor kidney transplantation.
Become a Kidney Donor
Donate Well is a personalized 8-week wellness program, designed to help living donors get healthy enough for organ donation.
Participants in the donor wellness program will receive access to nutrition consultations and a registered dietitian, Lifestyle Redesign coaching with an occupational therapist and Keck Medicine-approved fitness support. Participants will also receive a wellness starter kit with additional resources, such as:
Participants will be regularly monitored by the transplant team, through medical tests and other metrics, to determine if and when they are healthy enough to become a donor. Once a participant becomes a donor, the team will monitor them for two years after the surgery to encourage a permanent healthy lifestyle.
To be eligible for the program, candidates must be:
Your primary care provider or specialist can refer you to our kidney transplant team, or you can schedule an appointment by calling 1-800-USC-Care.
A living-donor kidney transplant is an operation wherein a person receives a kidney from someone who is alive and healthy. Most people are born with two kidneys, but the human body functions perfectly well with one healthy kidney. This means that a person with two healthy kidneys can donate one.
Generally, people who receive kidney transplants tend to be healthier over time than people who stay on long-term dialysis. The majority of kidney transplants occur when the donor is deceased, but by comparison, living-donor kidney transplants have been shown to have better outcomes.
Yes. People who receive a kidney from a living donor generally have better kidney function and live longer compared to people who receive a kidney from a deceased donor. Another potential benefit of a living-donor kidney transplant is a shorter time on the organ donation wait-list. The wait-list for a kidney from a deceased donor can be quite long, especially in Southern California. Depending on your blood type, the wait can be more than 10 years. However, surgery will happen quite rapidly, oftentimes within hours, when a donor kidney is available.
However, with a living-donor kidney donation, you can:
If your living donor is not a match for you, we can help through the paired-kidney exchange. Paired-kidney exchange allows your living donor to donate a kidney to another compatible recipient, and subsequently, someone else’s donor will donate a kidney to you. Our program participates in paired exchanges across the United States, including with the National Kidney Registry. The exchange will help you and your willing donor find other donor-recipient pairs who match your requirements.
As a living-donor kidney transplant recipient, you may be hospitalized for 3 to 4 days, following surgery. After your procedure, you may also be on restricted activity for 6 to 8 weeks. In general, recovery for kidney transplant recipients can be more complex and may require frequent follow-ups to monitor recovery and address potential complications.
Yes. Kidney donation works because one healthy kidney is perfectly able to perform all the filtering and waste removal functions for the body. Once you recover from surgery, you can lead a long, active and healthy life. You will undergo a thorough and complete medical evaluation to ensure that you meet all the criteria to safely donate a kidney.
Any surgical procedure has some risk for complications. For our kidney donor procedures, we use minimally invasive techniques, including single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS), which allow for faster, more comfortable recoveries than open surgeries. Minimally invasive procedures can also help reduce scarring.
The risk of developing kidney failure after donation is less than 1% – just slightly higher than the general population. The following conditions may also increase the risk of kidney failure after surgery:
What tests will I need before donating a kidney?
Your Keck Medicine care team will make sure that you’re healthy enough for surgery and have a good support network for your recovery.
Your evaluation will include:
You will also talk to an independent living-donor associate, who will act as your health advocate.
You will be in the hospital for 1 to 2 days. After that, you will recover at home for 3 weeks or up to 1 month.
During the first 3 weeks of recovery, we recommend giving yourself plenty of time to rest and sleep, as well as eating nutritious meals. It’s best to avoid strenuous exercise, but normal activities such as walking or climbing stairs are fine.
After about a month, you should be able to go back to work and do more rigorous exercise. Be sure to ramp up slowly. Your care team can help you as you navigate the recovery process.
We have dedicated coordinators, who are nurses, that will help you before and after surgery. You will also have access to a wide network of clinicians and support services professionals, such as dietitians and social workers.
Eligible donors may also take part in our Donate Well program, which has a whole team available to support you through your donation journey. They offer a wide range of services, such as:
Your care team will evaluate and advise when you may be able to donate a kidney. While for some donors the process may be faster, in some cases your care team may decide it’s best to delay donation to ensure that you’re as healthy as possible.
If your kidney does not match the recipient, you may still donate through the paired-kidney exchange. The exchange will help you and your willing recipient find other donor-recipient pairs who match your requirements. We participate in paired exchanges across the U.S., including through the National Kidney Registry.
If you do not have a specific kidney recipient, you can still donate. As a non-directed or altruistic donor, you may be able to start a kidney chain and potentially help many recipient-donor pairs who otherwise wouldn’t find a match. You will go through the same evaluation process and required tests to determine your eligibility.
You can stop the evaluation process at any time and for any reason. Your information and the reasons for stopping the evaluation will be completely confidential.
If you would like to become an organ donor, start by filling out the questions on our online form at www.usclivingdonor.org. All of your answers are confidential and will only be accessible to Keck Medicine personnel.
If you wish, you will be able to name a specific recipient, when you fill out the form.
Thank you for considering giving the gift of life.
Approximate number of referral patients sent to our trusted doctors
Years of experience and innovation in kidney transplant surgery care
Number of kidney transplant surgeries we perform yearly
Year our world-renowned kidney transplant program was established
We give you access to a full portfolio of clinical trials and the latest advances in treatment therapies and medications for living-donor kidney transplants.
Our team can perform both transfusion-free surgeries and living kidney donation surgeries using minimally invasive transplant techniques.
Our program is part of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the central agency that coordinates the nation’s organ transplant system.
We were named a Center of Medical Excellence for kidney transplant by Aetna, Anthem, Cigna Life Source, Interlink and Optum.
Your living-donor kidney transplant team works closely with doctors from a wide range of specialties, including infectious disease, endocrinology, cardiology, radiology, urology, hepatology, hematology, family medicine, gastroenterology and more.
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