In addition to deceased organ donors, patients waiting for a kidney may consider living donation. Living donation is a transplant surgery performed between two living adults or an adult to child. Donors can live a normal, healthy life with only one kidney.
There are many benefits of receiving a kidney from a living donor. There is no waiting period and the surgeries can be scheduled at a convenient time for both the donor and recipient. Patients undergoing laparoscopic donor surgery have significantly less pain, a shorter hospital stay and return to normal life much faster than those who undergo the more traditional "open" procedure. A kidney from a live donor often works sooner than a kidney from a deceased person and typically lasts longer.
When a living person donates a kidney, the surgeries are done on the same day. The operation performed to remove the healthy kidney from the donor is called a nephrectomy. This is a major surgery and there are some risks involved. All of these surgeries are done using a laparoscopic, or minimally invasive, approach. As a result, the recovery time for the donor is faster than with traditional "open" surgery.
Unfortunately, not all transplant centers have the expertise to perform laparoscopic donor surgery. Northwestern Memorial is fortunate to have three transplant surgeons who are trained and have successfully performed more than 900 laparoscopic donor surgeries since 1997, utilizing video technology to allow the kidney to be removed safely through small incisions on the abdomen.
Contact
Galter Pavilion
675 N. St. Clair, Suite 17-200
Chicago, Illinois
(312) 695-4383
