Renal Support Network

As of March 29, 2024, there are over 103,000 people in the United States on the national transplant waiting list. 91% of those people are in need of a donor kidney. The wait for a deceased kidney varies across the county and can average up to ten years in some geographical locations. There is a shortage of available kidneys from deceased donors and living donation can help close the gap.

A living kidney donor can live a normal, healthy life with just one kidney. There are minimal side effects after a kidney donation. If a living kidney donor’s remaining kidney function declines or fails, they are placed at the top of the kidney wait list.

A living donor can benefit a person whose kidneys are no longer functioning or are about to fail for many reasons. Here are just a few:

• It would reduce and possibly eliminate the wait time for a deceased kidney.

• You can schedule the surgery for both the donor and the recipient for when the recipient is ready and it is convenient for the donor.

• The recovery time for the recipient is often quicker than it would be with a deceased donor.

Tell Congress to Support the Living Donor Protection Act! The Living Donor Protection Act of 2023 H.R. 2923/S.1384 would promote and protect living organ donation. If passed, this bill would prohibit discrimination of living organ donors by employers, life insurance providers, disability and long-term care insurance carriers.

RSN’s “Share Your Spare” campaign brings awareness to the public about their kidneys and how to keep them healthy, kidney disease treatment options, deceased organ donation and about the option of living donation.