Thinking about donating? Start here.

Why a living donor

A kidney from a living donor lasts about 15 to 20 years on average, compared with 7 to 10 years for a kidney from a deceased donor. It also has a better chance of working right away.

For Mike, a living donor means he doesn’t have to keep waiting on dialysis for a kidney to become available.

Who can donate

Medical City Dallas asks that living donors be at least 18, in good physical and mental health, and willing to donate. It won’t let anyone donate if their own future health would be at risk. Some health conditions, such as uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes or cancer, can rule a person out.

You don’t need to be related to Mike to be a good match, and you don’t need to know your blood type. The only way to know for sure is to start the questionnaire.

Step by step

1. The questionnaire. A confidential health questionnaire on Medical City Dallas’s website. It takes a few minutes.
2. A call from the living donor team. If it makes sense to continue, they contact you and answer your questions.
3. Testing and evaluation. It starts with basic blood and urine tests at a lab that suits you, then a clinic evaluation at Medical City Dallas that typically takes one day. It checks whether donating is safe for you and whether you match Mike. If you live out of town, you travel to Dallas for the evaluation, pre-surgery checks and the surgery itself.
4. Your independent advocate. You meet a living donor advocate who works only for you.
5. Your decision. Nothing is scheduled until you have all the facts and say yes.
6. Surgery, recovery and follow-up care. Planned around you, with the transplant team.

You can stop at any step.

Safety

Living kidney donation is a well-established surgery, and the evaluation exists to protect the donor. Like any surgery, it carries risks, both short term and long term.

Medical City Dallas will explain those risks for your own health, in private, before you make any decision.

Surgery and recovery

Most donor surgeries are done laparoscopically, through a few small incisions. That usually means a shorter hospital stay and an easier recovery than traditional open surgery.

At Medical City Dallas, donors typically stay in hospital 1 to 2 days, depending on their recovery. Most fully recover within a few weeks and go back to work in 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the type of work. Medical City Dallas follows donors for at least two years after donation, and advises women to wait six months to a year after donating before becoming pregnant.

Costs

Donors typically pay nothing out of pocket for the medical side. The evaluation, surgery and follow-up appointments are covered through the recipient’s health insurance, no matter who you donate to.

Insurance usually doesn’t cover costs like travel, lost pay or childcare. The National Living Donor Assistance Center can help eligible donors with travel expenses, lost wages and dependent care. Its eligibility gives priority to donors with low and moderate incomes, and the recipient’s household income no longer affects it. Ask Medical City Dallas about this and any support programs of its own.

Federal law forbids buying or selling organs. No one connected to this campaign will ever offer or ask for payment.

Not a match? You may still help Mike.

Through paired exchange, you donate to another patient and that patient’s donor gives to Mike. Medical City Dallas takes part in the national kidney exchange program run by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), and decides whether it is an option in your case.

Your rights

• You can change your mind at any time, for any reason, even late in the process. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.
• You have an independent living donor advocate whose only job is your interests.
• No one should pressure you. If you ever feel pressured, tell your advocate.

Your privacy

Your medical details stay private between you and Medical City Dallas. This website has no forms that ask about your health, and the family does not see your answers.

Please keep your own health details off social media. Share them only with Medical City Dallas.

Questions to ask Medical City Dallas

• What does the evaluation involve, and how long does it take?
• What are the risks for someone with my health history?
• How long would I be in hospital, and when could I go back to work?
• What costs would I have, and what help is available?
• Is paired exchange an option if I’m not a match for Mike?

General information, not medical advice. Sources, checked October 28, 2026: Medical City Dallas’s living donor page and kidney transplant program, the National Kidney Foundation and the National Living Donor Assistance Center.