Living Kidney Donor Screening Process

If you’re in excellent health, you could become a living kidney donor. Most people donate between ages 18 to 65, but we consider donors over 65 on a case-by-case basis. Thanks to new transplant options such as kidney paired donation, even if your kidney isn’t compatible with your recipient, your donation can help your loved one receive a life-giving transplant.

How to Become a Living Kidney Donor

If you want to donate to someone who is listed for kidney transplant at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC), follow these steps:

1. Complete the Online Screening Questionnaire. This requires your weight and height, so have that information ready. After you submit the questionnaire, a nurse coordinator will review it; if you are an acceptable donor, we will contact you to schedule a donor evaluation in San Francisco. If you have questions at any time, call (415) 600-1700 and ask to speak with a living donor team member.
2. Undergo a Two-Day Donor Evaluation at CPMC. Next, the Kidney Team schedules you for a full medical workup at CPMC in San Francisco. If more than one donor want to donate to one recipient, our team will help decide which donor should proceed first. The workup includes a medical exam, psychosocial consultation, chest X-ray, EKG (heart test), routine blood and urine tests and blood compatibility testing. We’ll also arrange any other tests that your and your recipient’s case may require. If you live out of state, a local recognized transplant center may complete your workup.
3. Complete Blood Compatibility Workup. We will draw your blood for two levels of compatibility testing: ABO blood typing and crossmatch testing. In addition, we’ll run HLA (genetic) testing. Medical Team Determines Compatibility. Following these tests, we’ll tell you whether you are an appropriate living donor candidate. If testing determines you can donate to your recipient, we will do a final CT scan and arrange a transplant date. If you and your intended recipient are incompatible, we will offer to add your names to our Kidney Paired Donation (KPD) listing. This list helps find sets of donor-recipient pairs who can “swap” kidneys, enabling you to donate to another person while ensuring that your recipient also receives a living donor transplant.