Living-donor kidney transplantation is a safe and successful treatment approach. The source reports that, at one year after living-donor transplantation, 97% of patients can enjoy a healthy life without dialysis. The operation involves removing one kidney from a suitable donor and transplanting it into a patient with chronic kidney failure. The source emphasizes the requirement for blood group compatibility between donor and recipient.
In Türkiye, the source states that living organ donation is legally permitted between relatives up to the fourth degree. Transplantation from more distant relatives or unrelated living donors requires permission from an Ethics Committee affiliated with the Ministry of Health. In such cases both the patient and kidney donor undergo comprehensive evaluation and preparation beforehand so that transplantation takes place under the most appropriate conditions.
Helping someone you love and being able to do something good for them is always a wonderful feeling. The happiness of donating an organ from your own body so that someone close to you can regain health and lead a good life is invaluable.
Despite these positive feelings, the thought of donating one of your kidneys may initially make you anxious and raise concerns about your own health in the future.
Remember that when you decide to donate a kidney, protecting your health comes first. Detailed investigations are performed for this reason. Donation is approved only if all laboratory and imaging studies, specialist assessments, and other results establish that it is medically appropriate. If even a small concern emerges during this process, it is explained to both the recipient and the prospective donor, and another donor is sought.
NOT EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO DONATE A KIDNEY CAN DO SO. ONLY PEOPLE FOUND HEALTHY AND MEDICALLY SUITABLE AFTER DETAILED TESTS, SCREENING, AND ASSESSMENT CAN BECOME LIVING KIDNEY DONORS.
Remember that one healthy kidney can meet all the body's needs. The source states that there is no upper age limit for kidney donation. People under 18 years of age cannot legally donate an organ as living donors.
Even if current tests indicate adequate kidney function, donation will not be approved if you have had serious kidney disease in the past, have high blood pressure or diabetes, or are considered at increased risk of developing kidney failure in the future.
If the disease that caused the recipient's kidney failure has a hereditary component, testing must show no signs or findings of that kidney disease in you before you can become a donor.
Blood Group Compatibility Between Kidney Donor and Recipient
The source first requires compatible blood groups between the kidney transplant recipient and donor. Rh factor compatibility is not required for organ transplantation. For deceased donors, organs are generally offered according to identical blood group matching, with an exception described for urgent kidney transplantation cases under applicable matching rules.
The four blood groups are O, A, B, and AB:
- Group O: Can receive an organ only from group O, but can donate to all groups (O, A, B, AB).
- Group A: Can receive from A and O and donate to A and AB.
- Group B: Can receive from B and O and donate to B and AB.
- Group AB: Can receive from all groups, but donate only to AB.
Tissue Compatibility Between Kidney Donor and Recipient
Besides blood group compatibility, tissue compatibility is also desirable in kidney transplantation. Tissue compatibility tests investigate the similarity between the donor's tissues and those of the prospective recipient. Generally, greater tissue compatibility between donor and recipient is associated with a lower likelihood of rejection.
Nevertheless, rejection can occasionally occur even when transplantation takes place between identical twins. Parents and children share approximately half of their tissue characteristics. Siblings may be fully matched, half matched, or completely mismatched.
Today, thanks to potent immunosuppressive medicines, kidney transplantation may be performed safely even between individuals with no tissue match.