Living Organ Donations

Living Kidney Donation

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.)

Living Liver Donation
What is a Living Donor?

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.

Josie Curvin and her mom after Josie's living organ donation

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.

See Josie and Christina's Story
Are You Eligible to Donate?

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.