living kidney donor Questions

The Great Kidney Search was created to help Rahwa win her 20-year battle with kidney failure by finding an extremely rare match and living kidney donor to give her a life-saving kidney transplant. 

Yes, living donors can lead healthy lives with one kidney. The remaining kidney compensates for the loss, and kidney function typically remains normal. The National Kidney Foundation offers information on long-term outcomes. Most donors keep a nephrologist to continue to monitor kidney function once a year with no issues.

If Rahwa does not receive a transplant, her life expectancy is significantly shorter. Since Rahwa has battled kidney disease for 20 years now, her body is beginning to lose viable dialysis options to keep her alive on dialysis. Her final remaining dialysis option is not recommended for long-term use as this has higher and more severe risks. Without dialysis or transplant, she cannot survive.

The best way to find out if you are a match for Rahwa, please text or email us so we can connect you with her transplant coordinator and provide you with her patient details.

Rahwa's blood type can receive types A, A+,O and O- donors. If you don't know your blood type, ask your doctor. Alternatively, the living donor transplant team can help you determine this during your screening.

Generally speaking, some common disqualifiers are high blood pressure, diabetes, any active cancers or malignancies, and addictions. This is for the protection of the donor. A thorough evaluation is performed before the match and typing testing to ensure the donor will be able to safely donate a kidney. More information about these requirements are on the Cedars Sinai Living Kidney Transplant page, as well as National Kidney Foundation's website.

You must complete a financial consultation to verify your insurance coverage, a psychological evaluation, and extensive medical tests. The results will be kept completely confidential. They will not be shared with the recipient.

If you are approved to donate a kidney to your friend, it means you have successfully gone through a comprehensive evaluation process to ensure that you are a suitable and healthy match for kidney donation.  The transplant team will contact you and 

you will have time to ask more questions, decide, and contact the transplant team again to inform them you are interested in moving forward and scheduling the surgery with the team’s availability and yours.

Rahwa's insurance covers the cost of the donor's evaluation, surgery, and post-operative care. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, donors should not incur significant financial costs.