If you are interested in donating a kidney to a relative, friend or any individual on Sentara’s kidney transplant waiting list, you may have many questions about the process and the surgery itself.
The Sentara Transplant Center is fully equipped to work with you as a potential donor. We do exhaustive testing to be sure you are healthy enough to donate a kidney and are also a good genetic match for the intended recipient. Our board-certified and fellowship-trained surgeons oversee your entire donor process—from your initial screenings to your surgery and recovery.
You are in good hands with Sentara. We have been successfully performing kidney transplants since 1972. We handle approximately 60-70 kidney transplants each year and more than half of them are from living donors.
The Sentara Transplant Center is fully equipped to work with you as a potential donor. We do exhaustive testing to be sure you are healthy enough to donate a kidney and are also a good genetic match for the intended recipient. Our board-certified and fellowship-trained surgeons oversee your entire donor process—from your initial screenings to your surgery and recovery.
You are in good hands with Sentara. We have been successfully performing kidney transplants since 1972. We handle approximately 60-70 kidney transplants each year and more than half of them are from living donors.
It is no exaggeration to say that your kidney donation could save your recipient’s life. Patients who need kidney transplants are experiencing end-stage renal disease, or “kidney failure.” Their kidneys can no longer filter waste products from their bloodstream.
Kidney failure is a life-threatening condition. People experiencing kidney failure must either undergo up to 16 hours of kidney dialysis per week and/or hope for a kidney transplant. Dialysis can extend a person’s life for many years, but it is not a permanent solution. A kidney transplant is more effective because:
- Actual kidneys do a better job: A human kidney will always be more effective at filtering a patient’s blood and helping maintain their health than an artificial process like dialysis.
- Higher survival rates: Kidney transplant patients are living longer than ever before—and longer than patients undergoing dialysis. The 10-year survival rate for kidney transplant patients is approximately 4 times longer than patients who are on dialysis. If the transplant recipient is your loved one or friend, these statistics will be personally meaningful to you.
- Personal reward: Sentara’s experience with living kidney donors has been overwhelmingly positive. Donors tend to carry a sense of meaning and purpose throughout their lives. They know they saved or extended another person’s life.