Sometimes your donor cannot donate directly to you. Typically its because of a positive cross-match or their blood group is not compatible. However, most of the time donors are happy to be entered into the kidney exchange programme. This is where pairs of donors and recipients are matched up – a sort of kidney swapsy.
All donors are put into a pool and matched against the recipients to find the best matches. For example:
- Harry can donate to David (and is Hugo’s colleague).
- Gill is donating a kidney and matchs with Hugo (but Graham’s sister).
- Deepika donates to Harriet (Deepika is David’s wife).
This way Hugo, David and Harriet all get kidneys but not from the person they know. It’s a matching system.
This one’s for you……
For the UK check out – UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme – ODT Clinical – NHS Blood and Transplant
USA – click here Paired Exchange Kidney Donation | National Kidney Registry
If you’re in India, the country is starting to match people up nationally and not just in regions India’s First National Paired Kidney Donation Registry | Swap Program
– My experience
Without my kidney donor I would not have been in the Exchange Programme so I think of my kidney as coming from her. ♥
I received my kidney through a kidney exchange programme in New Zealand; this is part of a wider programme that includes the southern parts of Australia. My kidney was flown over from Australia and so I had my operation late in the evening due to the time difference and transport time.
https://www.donatelife.gov.au/for-healthcare-workers/ANZKX
Even through my kidney was from a stranger – I still think of it as my friend’s kidney. It was her donation that made this all possible. Without her donating I would not have been able to enter the Kidney Exchange Programme. So I think very fondly of my transplant kidney as from her.