Living-Donor Kidney Transplant

New Patient Appointment or 214-645-1919

Interested in Becoming a Living Donor?

Take the first step and complete our confidential living-donor transplant questionnaire.

Using kidneys from living donors, UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Living-Donor Kidney Transplant Program offers transplant patients better long-term outcomes and survival rates while ensuring that donors’ health and interests are protected.

As an academic medical center, UT Southwestern has highly trained specialists who work together to treat patients with even the most complicated cases and provide optimal outcomes.

Advantages Over Traditional Kidney Transplantation

Patients with advanced kidney disease who are candidates for kidney transplantation – and who wish to pursue this option – may receive a compatible kidney from either a living or deceased donor.

On the whole, patients transplanted with kidneys from living donors achieve significantly better long-term outcomes and survival rates than those who receive kidneys from deceased donors.

Living donation provides many advantages over traditional deceased-donor transplantation:

Through living donation, patients avoid the long wait times associated with transplantation from deceased donors.
A kidney from a living donor potentially improves genetic matching, thereby decreasing the risk of organ rejection.
The transplant surgery can be scheduled at a time convenient for both the living donor and the transplant candidate, which limits surprises and allows for advance planning.
A transplant from a living-donor can potentially help the recipient avoid dialysis.
Success rates improve with living-donor kidneys, which are transplanted immediately after removal and allow the transplanted organ to begin functioning in the recipient much faster.
A living-donor kidney lasts longer than a deceased-donor kidney.

For these reasons, our kidney transplant experts encourage kidney transplantation candidates to actively pursue living donation when possible.

A match made in heaven

When Vivian Johnson, the matriarch of a military family, needed a kidney transplant in 2004, her husband, James, said "sign me up!" Nearly 20 years later, daughter Kimberly donated, inspired by her father's example and her mother's strength. UT Southwestern is working closely with the Dallas VA to provide veterans and their families with access to expert transplant care closer to home.

Two transplants in 10 years

Several years after receiving a heart transplant in 2011, Mark Doman’s kidney function began to decline. When he learned he needed another transplant, a family member graciously donated their kidney in order to give him a new lease on life.

Share – or Receive – the Gift of Life

We offer a simple online donor application that provides instant feedback on whether a person is a good candidate for donation. Anyone can apply and the application is confidential. Our medical team will carefully evaluate each application.

Potential transplant recipients can apply online to be considered for a living-donor kidney transplant.
Applications are available in both English and Spanish.

Learn more about kidney donor surgery and recovery.

Surgeries in Sync

Two simultaneous surgeries with one single goal: to give the kidney recipient a new lease on life. Follow two surgical teams as they perform a living-donor kidney transplant.

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Related Conditions and Treatments

Transplant

Comprehensive, World-Renowned Transplant Care

UT Southwestern provides the highest-quality care and helps restore patients to full and productive lives. Our transplantation teams are there for patients, from initial evaluation through the life of the organ

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Award-Winning Care

We’re one of the world’s top academic medical centers, with a unique legacy of innovation in patient care and scientific discovery.

Why UT Southwestern

Refer a Patient

877-392-1528

Transplant Intake Coordinator: Helen Bankston, RN, B.S.N.

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