Altruistic or Living Organ and Tissue Donation
Most living organ donors are relatives of the person receiving the transplant (e.g. a parent, brother or sister). Recent advances in medicine have also made it possible for people who are not related to the person who needs a transplant (eg a spouse, partner or friend) to make a donation. Living donation by a relative or friend is called directed donation. If you are thinking of making a living donation, your doctor can give you more information.
Living donation can also be non-directed
Donations of bone marrow by volunteers are a common form of this type of donation. Non-directed kidney donation is a new practice worldwide. It is still rare in Australia and is only possible at some Australian hospitals. In these cases, a person decides to donate a kidney to help whoever is on the waiting list. The donor has no say in who will or will not receive the kidney. Care is taken to protect the privacy of this type of donor.
Can I donate my kidney to a stranger?
Non-directed live donation is a new form of living donation. It means being a live kidney donor to a complete stranger. Someone donates a kidney and allows it to be given to the most suitable recipient on the transplant waiting list. As this is a very serious decision, you may need to talk about it with your family and friends, doctor, renal transplant nurse, social worker or counsellor. Policies and guidelines are currently being developed in some states of Australia.
Can I buy or sell a kidney?
Trade in human organs and tissue is illegal in Australia and also ethically unacceptable. Anyone involved would face criminal charges. The illegal buying of organs overseas raises the risks of recipients contacting blood born diseases, complications or even death.
KHA Health Fact Sheets - Deciding about live donation - Kidney Transplantation - Life with a single kidney - Live Donation - Organ and tissue donation and transplantation
We recommend Making a Decision about Living Organ and Tissue Donation derived from "Living Organ and Tissue Donation: Guidelines for Ethical Practice for Health Professionals" developed by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) may help you think through some ethical issues and make decisions about living organ and tissue donation. Other publications provided for the community and specialist information for researchers, clinicians and other health professionals on the NHMRC website are listed at www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications/subjects/organ.htm
Others recommended are Could I be a Living Donor from Transplant UK and Australian Bone Marrow Registry