Living donor kidney transplantation is a safe and successful treatment method. One year after transplantation, approximately 97% of patients live healthy lives without the need for dialysis. This type of surgery involves taking one kidney from a suitable donor and transplanting it into a patient with chronic kidney failure. For kidney transplantation, blood type compatibility between the donor and recipient is required.

Legal and Ethical Framework

In Turkey, organ transplants are legally permitted up to fourth-degree relatives. Transplants from donors beyond this degree of kinship, or from unrelated individuals, are only allowed after receiving approval from the Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Health. In these cases, both the patient and the donor undergo comprehensive examinations before the surgery to ensure maximum safety and suitability.

Donating a kidney to save a loved one’s life is a deeply meaningful and selfless act. The joy of knowing that your organ donation has allowed someone you care about to live a full and healthy life is truly priceless. However, it is natural to have concerns or doubts about your own health and future well-being before making this decision.

Donor Evaluation and Health Protection

When deciding to donate a kidney, your health and safety are the top priorities. Detailed examinations are conducted to ensure your suitability for donation. If all laboratory and radiological results and specialist evaluations confirm that you are medically fit, your organ donation will be approved. If there is even the slightest doubt during these evaluations, the situation will be explained to both the donor and recipient, and an alternative donor will be sought.

Not everyone who wishes to donate a kidney can do so. Only individuals who are determined to be healthy and medically eligible after thorough screenings and evaluations can become living kidney donors. Remember, one healthy kidney can meet all of the body’s essential needs.

Donor Eligibility Criteria

• There is no upper age limit for donation, but individuals under 18 years old cannot legally donate organs.
• Donors with a history of serious kidney disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes are not accepted.
• If there is a familial cause of kidney failure, the donor must be thoroughly examined to ensure they do not carry any signs of the same disease.

Blood Group Compatibility Between Donor and Recipient

Blood group compatibility is an essential factor in kidney transplantation. The Rh factor is not considered significant in compatibility assessments. For deceased donors, organ allocation follows one-to-one blood group matching, except in emergencies where certain exceptions may apply.

Blood Group Compatibility Chart

• O Blood Group: Can receive organs only from O, but can donate to all groups (O, A, B, AB).
• A Blood Group: Can receive from A and O; can donate to A and AB.
• B Blood Group: Can receive from B and O; can donate to B and AB.
• AB Blood Group: Can receive from all blood groups (O, A, B, AB); can donate only to AB.

Tissue Compatibility Between Donor and Recipient

In addition to blood type matching, tissue compatibility is also an important criterion. Tissue typing tests determine the degree of tissue similarity between the donor and the recipient. The greater the similarity, the lower the chance of organ rejection.

Even in cases such as identical twins, rare instances of rejection can still occur. Parents are typically half compatible with their children, while siblings may be fully, half, or non-compatible. Today, with the help of advanced immunosuppressive drugs, kidney transplants can even be safely performed between individuals with no tissue compatibility at all.