Donating a kidney to someone you don't know

You will be allocated a living donor coordinator, who will guide you through the entire process. They will talk you through all of the tests that you need to undertake. These are to make sure you are healthy enough to donate and that your kidneys are working properly.

The tests are generally not painful or invasive (but you will be asked for lots of blood samples along the way). They include urine tests, blood tests, X-rays and scans (some including an injection), heart tracing (through wires attached to sticky pads on your skin) and a special test of kidney function which involves an injection and a series of blood tests over set time periods.

Your test results will be discussed with you when available. If something unexpected is found then some further tests or assessments may also be needed. It is possible that the tests may show a condition or illness that you did not already know about. If this is the case, this will be discussed with you and appropriate referrals and treatment provided.

You will be required to have a psychological assessment. This is a meeting with a psychologist or psychiatrist to discuss your personal circumstances, any mental health issues you may have or have had and to explore your understanding of the process and reasons for donating. This is because donating a kidney can be a very emotional process, and we want to ensure that the risk of any psychological harm to you is acceptably small.

All donors must also be assessed by an Independent Assessor, on behalf of the Human Tissue Authority, who is completely separate from your medical team. This is a one-to-one meeting at the end of the assessment process, where you will be asked about your reasons for donating and your understanding of the process. The Independent Assessor checks that you are not being pressurised into donating, or being paid to do so, which would be against the law, and asks you to sign a declaration. The Human Tissue Authority needs to approve your donation in order for it to go ahead but, in general, it is very straightforward and you should not be anxious about it.

Non-directed donors cannot choose who should receive their kidney. Kidneys are allocated to both children and adults using national allocation schemes which have been carefully designed to ensure that they are fair to everyone and that each kidney is put to the best possible use so that as many patients as possible within the UK benefit from a successful transplant.

Can you donate to a specific patient?

Donating a kidney to someone specific with whom you have no previous existing relationship is called directed altruistic donation. The likelihood of being compatible with someone whom you identify in this way is rare but may be possible. You should contact the potential recipient’s transplant centre for advice and further information but if you do not know where the recipient is being cared for, the living donor team in your closest transplant centre will be able to advise you.

View a list of transplant centres

Our aim is to ensure your donation benefits as many people on the waiting list as possible. All non-directed donors are entered into the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme to initiate a chain of up to three transplants, unless there is a recipient with high priority for transplant on the national transplant list. This is known as an altruistic donor chain and your kidney donation may make it possible for up to three people to receive a transplant, who would otherwise not have had the chance.

If you cannot be matched to a recipient to initiate a chain, the kidney is donated to the most suitable recipient on the National Transplant List, using the same national allocation scheme that is used for deceased donor kidneys. Your living donor coordinator will explain how this works in more detail but you can read our UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme leaflet if you would like more information. 

Although media and social media reach many people, the likelihood of you being a suitable donor for the patient appealing for a kidney is very small, particularly if the recipient has a rare HLA type (tissue type) and has waited a long time to find a donor. 

Know before you go

Before you offer to be tested, understand what might be involved for you by reading this information and researching other resources about living kidney donation. Giving a kidney is a wonderful gift but it is a big decision and needs careful consideration. Your recipient will be pinning a lot of hope on every person who volunteers so it is a good idea to give it some thought before you step forward.

Would you be willing to think about non-directed donation (to someone else on the National Transplant List) if you could not donate to the person whom you identified?

If you are not a suitable donor for the patient, or they successfully find a different donor – would you still be willing to donate to someone else in need? You might be able to help more people by making a chain of transplants possible from your single donation as a non-directed donor. 

You may be one of many donors who respond to an appeal for a specific person within a short space of time and the transplant centre needs to organise initial screening-blood tests and appointments as sensibly as possible for everyone who volunteers. These cannot all be done at the same time and you may need to wait.

In directed altruistic donation, it is usual to meet the person to whom you plan to donate – the law may make exceptions in specific circumstances but, generally, it is expected that donor and recipient will not be anonymous to one another.