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Types of Kidney Donation

Living donor transplants: a growing trend

Approximately 40 percent of the kidney transplants performed by Washington University transplant surgeons at Barnes-Jewish Hospital are transplanted from living donors. In fact, nearly 1,000 people have received the gift of life from a living donor at Barnes-Jewish. 

Why is living donation becoming so common? 
There are more people waiting for organs than there are deceased donor kidneys available., Living donor surgery has also improved dramatically with quicker recovery times and minimal scarring

Deceased Kidney Donation
The average wait time to get a kidney transplant from the deceased donor kidney list is approximately three to five years.  Transplanted kidneys from a deceased donor generally don’t last as long as those from a living donor (usually 10 years for a deceased donor kidney; 15-20 years for a living donor kidney).

Living Kidney Donation

  • Donor organs are available sooner thus limiting or possibly avoiding the need for dialysis (a treatment that is very hard on your body).
  • Patients can schedule the transplant in advance.
  • The donated kidney spends less time outside of a living body, improving the viability of the organ.
  • There is a greater chance of the donated kidney functioning immediately after transplant, greatly improving kidney transplant and patient survival

Improved surgery for living donors

Kidney transplant surgeons at Barnes-Jewish Hospital are at the forefront of improving the surgical procedure for living kidney donation. Using leading-edge techniques like laparoscopic kidney removal and “mini-nephrectomy”, the recovery time for donors is significantly reduced due to the less invasive nature of these procedures.

For additional information or to begin a kidney transplant evaluation, call 314-TOP-DOCS (214-867-3627) or toll-free 866-867-3627.

UNOS Match Paired Transplant

Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Dartmouth-Hitchcock in New Hampshire participated in the first UNOS-coordinated match paired organ transplant. Find out more about the concept and how it changed the life of a St. Louis couple.

  • Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Dartmouth-Hitchcock in New Hampshire participated in the first UNOS-coordinated match paired organ transplant. Find out more about the concept and how it changed the life of a St. Louis couple.
  • Overview of kidney transplant services at Barnes-Jewish Hospital
  • Nephrologist, Barnes-Jewish & Washington University Transplant Center
  • April 5, 2008 Good Morning America interview at Barnes-Jewish Hospital with kidney transplant donor Michael Moore and recipient Stephen Gottschalk of Hillsboro, Mo.
  • Patients are monitored carefully after kidney transplant, to avoid organ rejection. From pills to exercise, hear patients talk about adjusting to life after transplant.
  • In 2010, Jonathan Sadowski became the first patient at Barnes-Jewish to recieve a combined heart/kidney transplant, a new procedure allowing some patients after heart transplant to avoid dialysis.
  • Edith Ritter needed a kidney transplant. Her son Steven Pursely found out he was a match. Watch their special relationship play out in Part 2 of this three part Patient Story series.
  • Watch patients describe what it’s like before and after surgery. Learn more about the kidney transplant at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
  • Kidney transplant starts with an evaluation. From there, patients decide between a living and deceased donor transplant. Throughout the process, patients have resources to help make that decision, from fellow patients to physicians.
  • Around 40% of kidney transplants at Barnes-Jewish come from living donors. Find out more about the process through the story of 34 year-old Jamie Schneider.
  • Surgical teams at Barnes-Jewish, Johns Hopkins and Integris Baptist successfully completed the first six-way, multihospital, domino kidney transplant.
  • Edith Ritter needed a kidney transplant. Her son Steven Pursely found out he was a match. Watch their special relationship play out in Part 1 of this three part Patient Story series.
  • Find out the requirements for kidney transplant and the choices involved for patients. Patients discuss the evaluation process and deciding between a living and deceased donor kidney.
  • Patients living on dialysis have the option to receive a kidney transplant. Discover the benefits of kidney transplantation and the freedom patients have without living on dialysis.
  • Ambrose Perkins was an active father and grandfather. He enjoyed his job as a bus driver, and he especially loved fishing, spending much of his free time with a rod and reel. When hypertension caused his kidneys to fail, Ambrose s doctors told him a transplant was his best bet for a normal life. Because none of his family members were donor candidates, he went on the waiting list for a donor organ. One day, as Ambrose told his boss about his condition, his friend and co-worker, Kim Monroe, overheard and offered to donate her kidney. Ambrose thought she was kidding. But Kim made an appointment to be evaluated as a donor and drove to Barnes-Jewish for an extensive work up. It turned out that Kim s kidney was a close match for Ambrose. On Nov. 15, 2005, Kim underwent a mini-nephrectomy - a minimally invasive donor procedure developed at Barnes-Jewish, and Ambrose received her healthy kidney. Both were out of the hospital within a week. Thanks to the skill of his doctors, the support of the transplant center team, and the generosity of his co-worker, Ambrose is reeling in fish once again.
  • After a kidney transplant, nutrition and wellness are so important. The team at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and kidney transplant patients discuss how diet and exercise improves life and organ rejection rates.