https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/rochester/health/2026/04/27/national-kidney-foundation-holds-event-to-educate-people-on-becoming-a-living-organ-donor (https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/rochester/health/2026/04/27/national-kidney-foundation-holds-event-to-educate-people-on-becoming-a-living-organ-donor)
National Kidney Foundation holds event to educate people on becoming a living organ donor
The National Kidney Foundation held an event Sunday in Irondequoit to inform people about how they can become a living organ donor.
Doctors say there are a lot of people who are unaware of the process of donating an organ. But one local doctor and a living organ donor both compare the process to donating blood.
"So I think they just don't understand what the process is," said Dr. Jeremy Taylor, transplant director of nephrology at the University of Rochester. "You know, people know about donating blood, but they don't know about donating organs and I think it's something a lot of people can do."
Living kidney donation has traditionally had excellent outcomes for both the donor and the recipient.
According to a study published in JAMA (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/donating-a-kidney-even-more-safe-than-previous-believed-u-s-study-shows), fewer than 1 in 10,000 donors die within three months of surgery. More than 98% of kidneys from living donors are still functioning one year after the procedure, according to Stanford Health Care (https://stanfordhealthcare.org/campaigns/living-donor-campaign.html#:~:text=*%20More%20than%2098%%20of%20transplanted%20kidneys,longevity%20than%20transplanted%20kidneys%20from%20deceased%20donors.). Living donor kidneys generally provide better long-term survival for recipients compared to deceased donor kidneys.