The Queen's Medical Center

Living Kidney Donation

Queen’s Transplant Center
Physicians Office Building 3 (POB 3), Suite 404

550 S. Beretania Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Phone:
808-691-8897

Fax:
808-691-8896

Clinic Hours:
Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

» Locations » Hospitals & Locations » Queen's Medical Center » Services » Transplant Center » Living Kidney Donation

Living Kidney Donor Program

There are three types of kidney donors:

Living Blood Relative – may be a parent, sibling, or other person related to the recipient
Living, Unrelated Donor – Can be a friend, or could also be a living donor who donates to an anonymous candidate on the national waiting list
Deceased Donor – Organs from this type of donor mean the recipient is on the national transplant list

Patients who receive a kidney from a living donor have a much shorter waiting period before receiving their transplant, and generally have the best outcomes.

In Hawaii, more than 300 people are waiting for a transplant…Patients on our waiting list, wait for an average of 3 years for a kidney transplant as compared to 10 years at some mainland centers. Living donors can make a difference and allow a friend or relative to get off of dialysis sooner.

Becoming a Living Organ Donor

Prospective kidney donors are asked to complete a confidential, online health history questionnaire before coming in for an evaluation. Click here to complete the donor questionnaire.

If you are unable to access the questionnaire or want to learn more about living kidney donation, call 808-691-1120 to speak to our living donor coordinator, or fill out the Living Kidney Donor Intake Sheet and fax or mail the form directly to the Queen’s Transplant Center.

Kidney Donor Exchange Program

Hawaii’s Most Advanced Kidney Donor Exchange Program

Kidney paired donation (KPD), or paired exchange, is an option in which a living donor and recipient are not compatible with each other. KPD occurs when a donor exchanges their kidney with the living donor from another incompatible donor/recipient pair to create two compatible pairs. Exchanging with another incompatible pair can allow for two compatible transplants.

It can take anywhere from 1 month to 2 years to find an exchange pair. This depends on the donor/recipient antibody levels, blood type, and number of people in the trade pool database.

How the Kidney Paired Donation Program Works

The Queen’s Transplant Center is participating with the National Kidney Registry. The National Kidney Registry allows a computerized matching system to identify compatible recipient/donor pairs across the nation from multiple transplant centers. This greatly increases the potential donor trade pool which increases the chances that a compatible kidney transplant can occur.

If you do not have a living donor, we encourage you to reach out to family members and friends. Through kidney paired exchange, anyone can be a potential donor for you, even if they are not a blood type match.

If you are interested in learning more about the National Kidney Registry, please call the living donor coordinator at the Queen’s Transplant Center at 808-691-1179

What To Expect

The Queen’s Medical Center Transplant Center’s skilled team performs a kidney removal (nephrectomy) using a minimally invasive laparoscopic technique. This procedure offers less pain, smaller scars, a shorter hospital stay, and faster recovery than with traditional open surgery.

Leaving the hospital after donating a kidney

After the living donor is discharged from the hospital, they will have scheduled follow-up appointments at regular intervals after donation, including:

The donor will meet with the transplant coordinator and their surgeon to monitor their kidney function and blood pressure. Donors will be given (or mailed) a lab order to be completed prior to their scheduled appointment. Lab work includes urinalysis and serum creatinine. These are tests that help determine the function of the donor’s kidney.

The Queen’s Transplant Center is required to submit follow-up information to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years post-donation on all living kidney donors.

It is recommended that donors monitor their blood pressure annually. A desirable blood pressure is less than 120/70. You may need treatment if your blood pressure is greater than 130/80.

Post-Surgical Care for Kidney Donors

Incision Care

Do not sit in a bath tub, hot tub, or go swimming until cleared by your surgeon (you may shower).
Allow water to run gently over your incision as you clean the incision area.
Avoid use of lotion or powder on or near the incision.
A dressing on the incision is not usually required and it may be open to air.
You may place a light gauze pad over the incision for comfort if your clothes tend to rub or irritate the incision.
Steri-strips (small pieces of tape covering your incision) will gradually fall off on their own. You may trim the edges if they loosen and leave the remainder of the strip in place.

Activity

Diet

Unless told differently, eat a balanced diet with whole grains and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables can help with the constipation caused by pain medications.
Stay well hydrated. Drink at least 2 liters (8 glasses) of fluid per day and more if you sweat.
Avoid high protein diets such as the “Atkin’s Diet,” and high protein drinks. High protein diets can overwork and damage your kidney.
Avoid saturated and trans fats.
If you have nutrition-related questions or would like to meet with a dietitian, please call the Queen’s Transplant Center at (808) 691-8897

Financial Considerations

Generally, expenses incurred by living donation are covered by the recipient’s insurance or Medicare. These expenses can include:

Costs of the evaluation
Transplant surgery
Post-operative care

The Transplant Financial Coordinators at the Queen’s Transplant Center work with potential donors to discuss the financial aspects of donation.

Expenses that are not directly related to the organ donation are NOT covered costs. Non-covered costs could include:

Annual physicals
Travel and lodging
Lost wages
Other non-medical expenses, including services to follow-up on a health concern that may be identified during the organ donor evaluation process.

Living donors who have their surgery at the QMC are eligible for the following benefits through the National Kidney Registry’s Donor Shield program:

For most updated Donor Shield Benefits, please visit https://www.donor-shield.org/.

Insurance Coverage After Donation

Living donation may sometimes have a negative impact on the donor’s ability to obtain, maintain, or afford health, disability, and life insurance. It is important to talk with the Queen’s Transplant Center’s Financial Coordinator and your current insurance provider(s) to find out if being a living donor could impact your insurance coverage.

Financial Resources

Potential donors, families and recipients can call the Queen’s Transplant Center’s Financial Coordinator to discuss your financial concerns/questions. National Living Donor Assistance Program can help eligible donors with travel expenses, lost wages, and dependent care costs. To learn more, visit their website at https://www.livingdonorassistance.org/ or you may contact our social worker for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions About Donation

Who can donate?

Living kidney donors must be 18 years of age or older and be in very good medical and psychological health. Each potential donor meets with the Queen’s Transplant team to evaluate whether these criteria are met.

What is the organ donor screening process?

Each potential donor meets with a nurse for an initial screening and will complete blood and urine tests, as well as x-ray studies. The potential donor also meets with physicians to make sure there are no medical issues that would prevent donation.

What happens if I change my mind?

Counseling and education are provided throughout the process, but potential donors have the right to opt out of donation at any time.

Will donating a kidney impact me long term?

Studies suggest that long-term health after donation is not negatively impacted. Kidney donors live just as long, and with the same quality of life as if they had not donated a kidney. The donor’s chance for a long, normal, and healthy life remains the same with one kidney.

What kind of financial commitment am I making by donating a kidney?

Usually, any costs incurred by living donation are covered by the recipient’s insurance, or Medicare. For more information, check out our page on financial considerations.

How do I know if living kidney donation is the right decision for me?

This is a question we receive frequently, but unfortunately cannot answer. While consulting with your family, physicians, and other trusted advisors can be helpful, the only person who can answer this question is the potential donor themselves.

Living donation is not for everyone, and we recommend doing personal research to determine if it is the correct decision for you. Potential donors may find it helpful to talk with another person who has been a living donor. Donors will also have an opportunity to talk with an independent living donor advocate (ILDA). The ILDA advocates for potential living donors by helping to promote the donor’s best interest.

Common Myths

Read more Living Kidney Donor Information here.

Please avoid use of the following non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) because they can harm your kidney:

Over the Counter NSAID Medications to Avoid

Generic Name	Brand Name
Ibuprofen	Advil or Motrin
Naproxen	Aleve
Aspirin	Excedrin or Bayer
Ketoprofen	Orudis KT

Prescription NSAID Medications to Avoid

Generic Name	Brand Name
Celecoxib	Celebrex
Etodolac	Lodine
Indomethacin	Indocin
Ketorolac	Toradol
Maloxicam	Mobic
Nabumetone	Relafen
Sulindac	Clinoril
Oxaprozin	Daypro

After your donor surgery, please tell your primary care physician, as well as other doctors taking care of you, that you are a kidney donor. This will help them avoid prescribing medications that may harm your kidney.

If you are admitted to the hospital in the future, it is important that you let the doctors taking care of you know that you only have one kidney. This way, they can avoid giving you medications that may potentially harmful.

Drugs physicians and other medical professionals should avoid for kidney donors are commonly called “nephrotoxins,” and include:

NSAIDS
Certain antibiotics
Some chemotherapy medications
Intravenous contrast dye

If you need more information about your medicine and its use, check with your doctor, transplant nurse, or pharmacist.

When to seek medical attention after organ donation surgery

At the Queen’s Transplant Center, we have a team ready to discuss potential issues. Call and report symptoms early to avoid a trip to the emergency room or a stay in the hospital.

Call the Queen’s Transplant Center if you have any of the following:

Increased bleeding at the incision site
Unusual redness, oozing, or swelling along the incision
Incision is pulling apart
Body temperature is greater than 100 degrees F
Pain worsens without apparent reason, such as overexertion
Increased blood in your urine
Chills, a cough, or feel weak and achy
Chest pain or trouble breathing that is getting worse over time
Persistent nausea and vomiting
Change in bowel habits, i.e., persistent diarrhea or prolonged constipation

Organ Donation Stories

"Chances to make a real difference in someone else’s life, to ease some suffering, don't come by often…This was an opportunity that I couldn’t let pass. I’m very grateful.”

“My dad and I celebrated an anniversary the other night…since “our” transplant – one of my kidneys became his – and life is good. The truth is I’ve never been healthier and Dad, though he has slowed down somewhat because of non-transplant related issues, is happy and active. If you have a similar opportunity to give someone a second chance at life, educate yourself to learn if it’s right for you. And if you do go ahead with a living donation I can guarantee one thing: You will never regret it. It will be a bond you both cherish for the rest of your lives.”

Behavioral Health

Cancer

Heart Care

Neuroscience

Orthopedics

Pediatrics

Primary Care

Women's Health

Ask a Specialist:

New Advances in the Treatment of Epilepsy with Dr. Leslie Rudzinski