The Matching Process
WHO WILL RECEIVE MY DONATED KIDNEY?
If your donation is directed:
If you are looking to donate a particular person (known as a ‘directed’ donation) then you will be asked to complete a number of medical tests to make sure you are able to donate and a suitable match for your recipient.
If your donation is non-directed (altruistic):
If you are looking to donate to someone you don’t know (this is known as ‘non-directed’ or ‘altruistic’ donation), you will first be asked to do some medical tests to make sure you are fit and healthy enough to donate. Once these are done, NHS Blood and Transplant then uses your test results to find the most suitable person to receive your kidney.
The transplantation is then arranged by the local kidney transplant centres for the donor and recipient.
All non-directed donor kidneys either:
Go to a high priority recipient on the waiting list
Or, they are donated into the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme (UKLKSS), which allows up to three kidney transplants across the country.
WHAT IS THE UK LIVING KIDNEY SHARING SCHEME (UKLKSS)?
The sharing scheme involves two or more donor/recipient ‘couples’. One person in each couple is waiting for a kidney transplant, and the other wants to give a kidney to them but is not a good enough match (for example if their blood type is different). When this happens, the donor can then volunteer to give a kidney to a couple in a similar situation, in return for a kidney which is more suitable for their coupled person. This means the kidneys are ‘swapped’ to a recipient who matches better with each donor. By the donors donating their kidneys to someone else, their recipients will get the kidneys they need.
This sharing scheme can happen between two ‘couples’, or it can involve more than two couples.
If a non-directed living donor offers to donate their kidney without being part of a couple, it can ‘trigger’ a donor chain with two or three people receiving a kidney, who may not otherwise find a suitable transplant. When this happens, a single living donor kidney can enable up to three transplants – helping three recipients waiting for a kidney.
