The demand for transplant organs far exceeds the supply of available organs.
Because of this, our transplant program offers living donations as an option for kidney and liver transplants. (Living donations are not an option for pancreas, heart or lung transplants.)
A living donor is someone who donates an organ or part of an organ to another person. Living donors can include relatives, friends, coworkers, spouses or anonymous donors.
Living Organ Donation Saved Josie
Josie's biliary atresia meant she desperately needed a liver transplant. When Christina Miller heard about baby Josie's condition, the call for a living liver donation went straight to her heart.
You must meet minimum requirements before an evaluation at UVA:
- Excellent general health
- Donor age: Kidney: 18-70 years; Liver: 18-60 years
The evaluation itself takes 8-10 weeks. As a potential donor, you:
- Undergo a medical exam with blood and urine tests, X-rays and CT scans, psychological evaluation
- Receive the support of an independent team of nurses, a social worker, nutritionists, pharmacists, a medical doctor and a surgeon
What Does it Cost?
Living donation doesn’t cost anything for the donor. Our team will identify ways to offset any costs you may face, identifying grants and other funds.
You would only need to cover travel expenses and whatever work hours lost.
Wondering What It's Like to Donate?
Read one living donor's story to see what the experience was like, what she wish she'd known, and why she'd do it again.
