How to Screen to Be a Kidney Transplant Donor

Potential living kidney donors need to undergo a thorough screening process before a kidney transplant can be performed. The screening process determines whether the kidney donor and recipient are a good match and evaluates whether the kidney donor is in good enough health to undergo the transplant operation. The process also seeks to ensure that the donor is fully comfortable with and informed about his decision to donate a kidney. The multi-step screening process usually is discontinued if any step conclusively demonstrates that a donor would not be suited for the kidney transplant procedure.

Instructions

• 1

  Contact the transplant center that is responsible for treating the potential kidney recipient. The center will provide you with information on living kidney donation and probably ask you a few initial questions to determine whether you might make an acceptable kidney donor.

• 2

  Undergo blood tests to determine your blood type, antigen match and cross match. These are used to determine whether your kidney is likely to be a good match for the transplant recipient.

• 3

  Complete a financial consultation with the transplant center to ensure that becoming a kidney donor will not cause you any unexpected financial problems. You and the center will verify that the recipient's health insurance will cover the cost of the kidney transplant procedure as well as your necessary screening tests. Since you cannot receive any financial compensation for donating your kidney, the consultation will also help determine whether you are financially equipped to deal with the loss of wages during your recovery period and pay for necessary follow-up care.

• 4

  Complete a comprehensive evaluation designed to ensure that you are in good health and can withstand undergoing the kidney transplant procedure. The evaluation will include a medical history, a physical examination, a psychological evaluation and several other medical tests. A committee then will review your results to determine whether you can become a kidney donor.