Living Organ Donation
Become a Donor: Kidney & Liver
Contact the Living Organ Donation team
You may be able to give someone the chance to live a longer, healthier life — while continuing to live a full life of your own.
Every day, people with kidney and liver disease wait for a lifesaving transplant. Living donation offers another path. A healthy person can donate one kidney or a portion of their liver to help someone in need, whether that person is a family member, friend, or someone they've never met.
Could living donation be right for you? We're here to help you find out.
What Is Living Organ Donation?
Living organ donation is possible because a healthy person can live with one of thier kidneys or donate a portion of their liver, which can regrow after donation.
The evaluation and donation process is different for kidney and liver donors. Our dedicated living donor team guides potential donors through every step.
Living Kidney Donation
Most people can live a healthy, active life with one kidney. Donating a kidney can help someone receive a transplant sooner, potentially reducing or avoiding years of waiting and time on dialysis.
See more about how living kidney donation works, what to expect, and whether you may qualify.
Living Liver Donation
The liver has the remarkable ability to regrow. A healthy person can donate a part of their liver to someone who needs a transplant, creating a chance for someone to have a transplant without waiting for a deceased donor organ.
See more how living liver donation works, what to expect, and whether you may qualify.
Living Organ Donation Saved Baby Josie's Life
Josie's biliary atresia meant her liver was in rough shape and she needed a transplant. Christina Miller's living liver donation saved baby Josie's life.
When Kelli Curvin noticed a yellow tint in her baby daughter's eyes, it was the first sign of liver failure from a condition called biliary atresia. In a partnership between CHKD hospital and UVA Health, Kelli was able to find a living donor to save her daughter's life.
Transcript
KELLI CURVIN
Hi, I'm Kelli Curvin. I'm 38. Born and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia. Josie is one of five. She's the youngest and the only girl. I have four boys before her. We were outside and I noticed that the whites of her eyes looked just ever so yellow. We came to CHKD. They did an ultrasound and more labs, and they essentially told me that she was in liver failure.
FRANK DiPAOLA, MD
Josie came to us at UVA as a transfer from CHKD. So Josie was diagnosed with biliary atresia, which is a disease of the bile ducts of the liver. The primary treatment is a surgical therapy we call Kasai. Unfortunately, Josie was fairly sick by the time she came to us, so it became apparent fairly early on that she would need a transplant.
ANITA SITES, AG-ACNP
There's close to 20,000 people waiting for liver transplant in the United States, and there are just not enough deceased donor organs to supply all those people in need.
NICOLAS GOLDARACENA, MD
In a living donor, a patient who is alive and healthy donates a portion of their liver to someone in need. That's why we are making a huge effort to grow this living donor program at UVA.
CHRISTINA MILLER
On Facebook, a friend of mine had shared a post about a baby who needed a liver transplant.
KELLI CURVIN
She messaged me and said that God had put it on her heart that she wanted to be Josie's living donor.
CHRISTINA MILLER
She was, of course, very receptive to it, I think, as any mother would be who's fighting for their child in a situation like that. So she was very welcoming to me.
KELLI CURVIN
When she was in surgery and we had to wait so long for 10 hours, I felt helpless. I wish that it could have been me instead of her.
CHRISTINA MILLER
I do remember one of my first questions when I got up to the room after the surgery is, "How's Josie?" And I remember them telling me that, you know, it was almost immediate. Like after the liver went in, like, her color came back to her body. It was just a deep sigh of relief to know that everything went okay for her.
CHRISTINA MILLER
Like how it was planned.
KELLI CURVIN
We spent her her first birthday at the hospital, and that was amazing. The whole transplant team bought gifts and wrapped them. We sang Happy Birthday. They started out as, you know, just doctors and nurses, but we've spent a lot of time together. So, yeah, they're like family.
FRANK DiPAOLA, MD
If you look at centers across the country, living donor is about 10% of the total volume of pediatric liver transplants. We're going to do half of our transplants this year as living donor transplants. That allows us to get kids to transplant sooner.
ANITA SITES, AG-ACNP
Without donors, whether they be deceased or living donors, we wouldn't be able to transplant people. So donors are, of course, the heroes of transplant no matter how you look at it. But living donors are especially special, and I'm very biased., but I do think that they're the most special patient population you could ever take care of because they are giving of themselves in the most ultimate way.
ANITA SITES, AG-ACNP
It's a major abdominal surgery that that person doesn't need.
KELLI CURVIN
Her prognosis is great. She's thriving. A year ago, she weighed fourteen pounds and couldn't set up on her own. And now she's about to start walking and she's close to thirty pounds.
CHRISTINA MILLER
It actually happened to be on my birthday a few weeks ago that Kelli sent this video of Josie taking her first steps. It was just it was just really special to be able to witness that.
ANITA SITES, AG-ACNP
Christina does not like to have a lot of attention placed on her, so she's just another one of my really special patients who helped this precious little baby have a new chance at life.
You Don't Have to Know Someone Who Needs a Transplant
Living donors can be family members, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, or even people who choose to donate to someone they've never met.
Whether you already have someone in mind or simply want to explore the possibility of helping someone in need, our living donor team can help you understand your options.
Your Health Comes First
Choosing to become a living donor is a personal and voluntary decision. Our first responsibility is protecting your health, safety, privacy, and well-being.
Every potential donor completes a thorough medical and psychosocial evaluation. Your donor team focuses on your needs and includes an independent living donor advocate dedicated to protecting your rights and interests.
You can ask questions or decide not to continue at any point. Your personal medical information and reasons for deciding not to donate are kept confidential.
Helping Someone Find a Living Donor?
You don't have to be able to donate an organ yourself to make a difference.
A living donor champion helps someone who needs a kidney or liver transplant share their story and raise awareness about living donation. Living donor champions start conversations, reach more people, share a story online, and connect interested potential donors directly with UVA Health.
Become a Living Donor Champion
Thinking About Becoming a Living Donor?
The first step is simply learning more. Beginning the screening process doesn't mean you're committing to becoming a donor.
Our living donor team can answer your questions, help you understand what to expect, and determine whether living donation may be an option for you.
How Can I Donate?
- Living Kidney DonationKidney Donor Sign-Up
At UVA Health, we performed our first living kidney donation in 1969. You can trust we have the experience to care for you while you care for someone else.
- Living Liver DonationLiver Donor Sign-Up
Living donor liver transplants have been performed at UVA Health since 1999. When you donate part of your liver, we support and care for you with experience you can trust.
- Become an Organ DonorBecome an Organ Donor
You can save lives. Plan to donate your organs. Or, as a living donor, you can give now to someone in need.
