Deceased Donor Facts

• The average waiting time for a kidney from a Deceased Kidney Donor is 3-7 years.  A kidney from a Living Kidney Donor is the better option.
• Many factors are involved in your Waiting List Time to receive a kidney from a Deceased Kidney Donor such as your blood/tissue type, length of time on dialysis, your age, current health status, etc.
• Patients on the Waiting List need to be aware of the Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI) when considering to accept a Deceased Donor Kidney.  Lower KDPI scores are associated with a longer estimated functional capacity of the kidney and a higher KDPI scores are associated with shorter estimated functional capacity.
• A Deceased Kidney Donor has the potential of not working for several days or weeks until the kidney “wakes up” and starts to function.  Dialysis may be required until the kidney begins to function.
• A Deceased Kidney Donor Transplant has a higher potential risk for complications, infections & rejection compared to a Living Donor Kidney Transplant.
• Transplant surgery might be cancelled should  1) Tests show the donor kidney is not a good match for the recipient  2) Donor kidney is damaged which eliminates it for transplant.
• Approximately two-thirds of the approximately 28,000 kidney transplants performed in 2024 in the USA were deceased kidney donors.