Where does the donated kidney come from?
There are three ways that you can receive a kidney for transplant: • A living related kidney can come from a brother, sister, parent, aunt, uncle, or cousin. • A living non-related kidney can come from a husband, wife, friend, or extended family (e.g., an in-law) • A (Cadaver) Deceased donor kidney comes from a person who has recently died and expressed a wish to donate his/her organs after death Only one kidney is needed for transplant since a person can be healthy with only one working kidney. The transplant team will do a series of blood tests on both you and the possible donor to learn your blood and tissue types. This is known as tissue typing and cross matching. This information helps figure out whether your body’s immune system will accept the new kidney or reject it. If your blood and tissue types are not compatible, the transplant will not be done and you will continue your search for a new kidney. There may be other tests you must have done before you can have a kidney transp
