Hi all. In theory due to donate kidney via paired/pooled system,frustratingly thought it would be very soon as nearly all tests finished, but co ordinator has said we aren't ready yet! However I am starting to get extremely nervous about the long term prospects for my health. Not many long term studies, and contradictory information about the effects. I have asked my transplant co ordinator and other Dr's to be honest but just get the standard sugar coated version that " most people are ok", which is actually quite vague.

I appreciate there are risks and no guarantees, and I keep telling myself that if it was really damaging to health live donations wouldn't take place.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's also had similar feelings the closer it gets to all becoming " real"! Many thanks.

https://livingdonorsonline.org/donor-experiences/donation-anniversaries/

Happy anniversary to all celebrating donating or receiving an organ! Condolences to those grieving loved ones or struggling with long term complications. 

To all donors, recipients, their families, and friends, consider adding your anniversary to our calendar for our community to remember with you. 

To all would be recipients, family, and friends, as you peruse these brief windows into amazing stories of pairs of people discovering life threatening need and responding with extraordinary personal courage, think about how these stories inform your search. While most are family members, many are friends, and some are strangers. While most are women, many are men. While the vast majority are folks with good outcomes for both donor and recipient, some have heartbreakingly tragic outcomes. 

All these folks have been willing to be just a little bit public about their experience to help all who come after to understand a bit more about the reality of this amazing part of medical technology, our culture, and how we make our way in it before and after giving and receiving and organ. Best wishes all, and happy new year!

https://livingdonorsonline.org/donor-experiences/donation-anniversaries/

Forty-sixth anniversary:
Joan Ray donated a kidney to her brother on January 19th, 1980

Thirty-ninth anniversary:
Mike Rocheteau (since deceased) donated a kidney to his brother on January 8th, 1987

Thirty-first anniversary:
Wanda Christensen donated a kidney to her grandson, Damien Klemz, on January 5th, 1995
Darlene donated a kidney to her cousin, Yancy, on January 16th, 1995

Twenty-eighth anniversary:
Donna Lundberg donated a kidney to her mother on January 11th, 1998

Twenty-seventh anniversary:
Pat McDonough donated a kidney to her brother on January 13th, 1999

Twenty-sixth anniversary:
Cynthia Goldner donated a kidney to her cousin, Sukie Miller, on January 5th, 2000
Candice Ellington donated part of her liver to her husband on January 10th, 2000
Charity Wells donated a kidney to her sister, Carrie, on January 11th, 2000
Naomi donated a kidney to a coworker on January 31st, 2000

Twenty-fifth anniversary:
Catherine Cullen donated a kidney to her mother (since deceased) on January 4th, 2001
Thomas Busch donated a kidney to his former girlfriend, Dawn Meschi, on January 10th, 2001
Carol Meyer and her husband donated lung lobes to their daughter (since deceased) on January 16th, 2001
Carolyn Miller donated a kidney to her husband on January 31st, 2001

Twenty-fourth anniversary:
Aileen Sperber donated a kidney to her husband on January 3rd, 2002
Michael Hurewitz (deceased in the peri-operative period) donated part of his liver to his brother on January 13th, 2002
Nathan Bishop donated part of his liver to his brother-in-law's brother on January 25th, 2002
Ray Madden donated a kidney to his wife on January 29th, 2002

Twenty-third anniversary:
Gina donated a kidney to her brother-in-law on January 7th, 2003
David Harper donated a kidney to a stranger on January 8th, 2003
Brenda donated a kidney to her father on January 10th, 2003
Aya Manalo Hufana donated a kidney to her sister on January 11th, 2003
Lisa L Henderson donated a kidney to an unrelated person on January 26th, 2003

Twenty-second anniversary:
Jodi Phelan donated part of her liver to her daughter on January 5th, 2004
Regan M Gamble donated a kidney to her mother, Danielle, on January 14th, 2004
Jason York donated part of his liver to the daughter of an alumnus from his high school on January 17th, 2004
Luke donated a kidney to his best friend on January 21st, 2004

Twenty-first anniversary:
Dawn donated a kidney to an unrelated person (since deceased) on January 6th, 2005
Bob Bucsh donated a kidney to his sister on January 12th, 2005
Taj "T-Bone" Hudson donated a kidney to a friend on January 12th, 2005
Amanda Zoneraich donated a kidney to her father on January 25th, 2005
Barb donated a kidney to an unrelated recipient on January 25th, 2005

Twentieth anniversary:
Nancy Ferrauilo donated a kidney to her husband on January 5th, 2006
Carin O'Brien donated a kidney to her father on January 25th, 2006

Nineteenth anniversary:
Kebra donated a kidney to her husband on January 2nd, 2007
Jaime Burhite donated a kidney to her older brother, Jason, on January 4th, 2007
Cynthia Tindongan donated a kidney to a stranger on January 10th, 2007
Jeff Eddy donated a kidney to his father on January 16th, 2007
Patrice Smith donated a kidney to Jenna Franks, an unrelated person found on LDO, on January 16th, 2007
Erica Gomez donated a kidney to her father on January 18th, 2007
Bassy Gottesman donated a kidney to her husband, Yehuda, on January 23rd, 2007
Frances Byrdin donated a kidney to her father on January 23rd, 2007
Kevin Kenney donated a kidney to a friend on January 24th, 2007
John Dennis donated a kidney to his father on January 25th, 2007
Adrienne P. donated a kidney to a stranger on January 29th, 2007

Eighteenth anniversary:
Sara Kaiser donated part of her liver to an 18 month old stranger on January 4th, 2008
Evan Brooks donated a kidney to his brother, Jim, on January 8th, 2008
Nancy McAbee donated a kidney to her brother, Dan Williams, on January 8th, 2008
Audrey donated a kidney to her husband's cousin on January 10th, 2008
Elizabeth Samstag donated a part of her liver to her friend, Dan Zenger, on January 17th, 2008
Kelly Harris donated a kidney to Greg on January 18th, 2008
April Zona Garcia donated a kidney to her mother, Gloria Tompkins, on January 31st, 2008

Seventeenth anniversary:
Janet Hinson donated a kidney to her brother on January 8th, 2009
Miriam donated a kidney to her long time friend, Bob, on January 9th, 2009
Teri Garber George donated a kidney to her boss of 20 years on January 9th, 2009
Laura Rivas donated a kidney to her best friend, Victor Rodriguez, on January 15th, 2009. She's sad he didn't survive to celebrate their first kidneyversary, but glad she tried to help.
Janet Hurley donated a kidney to her adult son Michael Hurley on January 22, 2009. Michael died on February 5, 2024 with his donated kidney still working after 56 rounds of chemotherapy
Celia donated a kidney to her uncle on January 26th, 2009
Teresa Wharton donated her left kidney to her Dad on January 28th, 2009
Kimberly Johnson donated a kidney, the first woman to do so vaginally, to her niece, Jennifer Gilbert, on January 29th, 2009
Lisa Poulsen donated a kidney to her step-dad on January 30th, 2009

Sixteenth anniversary:
Becky Sullivan made a non-directed kidney donation on January 6th, 2010
Craig Stieben donated a kidney to his girlfriend on January 7th, 2010
Bonnie Parr donated a kidney to her brother, Wayne Sheets, on January 8th, 2010
Laura Linton donated a kidney to her sister, Tina Sammon, on January 15th, 2010
John Galvin donated a kidney to his best friend on January 19th, 2010
Sandy Picanzo donated a kidney to her sister, Joan, on January 26th, 2010
Tina DelGuidice donated a kidney to an unrelated person, Edward J. Guenkel, on January 28th, 2010

Fifteenth anniversary:
Christine Archer donated a kidney to her great uncle, Arnold Strong, on January 11th, 2011
Morgan Davis became a kidney donor on January 11th, 2011
Paul Carlson donated a kidney to his sister, Barbara West, on January 24th, 2011

Fourteenth anniversary:
Karen L Michul donated a kidney to her friend, Matthew Jones, on January 9th, 2012
Sharon Irey donated a kidney to her son, William, on January 18th, 2012
Kelly Gray Kablick donated part of her liver to her Mom on January 24th, 2012

Thirteenth anniversary:
Marisa de la Garza donated a kidney to her mother, Silvia de la Garza Bassett, on January 9th, 2013
Stephanie DuBose Reeves donated a kidney to her best friend on January 9th, 2013
James Franks donated a kidney to Melinda Cagle Sanders, a school friend, on January 17th, 2013
Renae Myers Waters donated a kidney to her husband on January 22nd, 2013
Rosie Mariani donated a kidney to her best friend, Tammy, on January 31st, 2013

Twelfth anniversary:
Debbi Stapleton donated a kidney to Olga Gauthier on January 6th, 2014
Zoe McKeith donated a kidney to her mother-in-law, Kim Causer, on January 7th, 2014
Denise Hunter donated a kidney to her friend's nephew, Conley Tucker, on January 10th, 2014
Jennifer Sutton donated a kidney to her friend, Angela Braga, on January 10th, 2014
Howard Lobel donated a kidney to his cousin, Stevi Paul, on January 14th, 2014

Eleventh anniversary:
Joshua Wise donated a kidney to his friend, Stephen Johns, on January 8th, 2015
Joann Nolan donated a kidney to her father, Virgil, on January, 9th, 2015
Deanah Weigelt-Genuario donated a kidney to her aunt, Peggyann Street, on January 20th, 2015
Debbie Vitatoe donated a kidney to her son, Toby, on January 21st, 2015

Eighth anniversary:
Nadia Brown donated a kidney to her father, Timothy Brown, on January 22nd 2018

Sixth anniversary:
Ivana Berrera donated part of her liver to her mother, Edna, on January 14th, 2020

https://livingdonorsonline.org/donor-experiences/donation-anniversaries/

https://mymodernmet.com/jesse-eisenberg-kidney-donation/

Jesse Eisenberg Makes Life-Saving Kidney Donation to Someone He's Never Met
By Emma Taggart

Jesse Eisenberg has long been dedicated to giving blood, but he's now taking his generosity to the next level by donating a kidney to a complete stranger. When asked about his selfless decision earlier this year on the Today show, the Oscar-nominated actor said, "I don't know why. I got bitten by the blood donation bug. I'm doing an altruistic donation (in) mid-December. I'm so excited to do it."

Not everyone would be excited to give up a kidney, but with the ongoing organ donor shortage in the U.S., Eisenberg felt compelled to step in. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, there are nearly 90,000 people in the United States who are waiting for a kidney transplant at any given time, and 11 people die every day waiting for a donor.
An altruistic donation is when someone gives a kidney to a complete stranger with advanced kidney disease. Donors like Eisenberg are considered non-directed kidney donors because they're not giving to someone they know, such as a friend or family member.
"Let's say person X needs a kidney in Kansas City, (and) their child or whoever was going to donate to them is, for whatever set of reasons, not a match, but somehow I am," Eisenberg explained. "That person can still get my kidney and hopefully that child of that person still donates their kidney, right? But it goes to a bank where that person can find a match recipient, but it only works if there is basically an altruistic donor."
Eisenberg first became interested in organ donation about a decade ago, but it wasn't until recently, after meeting with NYU Langone Health in New York City, that he was able to make it official. "It's essentially risk-free and so needed," Eisenberg said. "I think people will realize that it's a no-brainer, if you have the time and the inclination." The actor also chose to put his family members at the top of his list, so if they ever needed a kidney transplant, they'd be prioritized.
The National Kidney Foundation said in a statement, "We appreciate and admire this selfless act by Mr. Eisenberg to step up and give the gift of life. Every kidney donor helps make a real difference for someone living with kidney disease—and this kind of generosity can inspire others to consider living kidney donation."

https://youtu.be/g4fZjdWZG6M

https://livingdonorsonline.org/donor-experiences/donation-anniversaries/

Year end lists abound, and ours always includes the first of us, Ron Herrick, who 71 years ago did what no one else had ever done. All of us have followed in his footsteps since. Best wishes all, for finding joy in this season and the coming year. Take good care.

Seventy-first anniversary:
Ronald Herrick donated a kidney to his brother on December 23rd, 1954, the first successful solid organ transplant. Ron died at age 79 on December 27th, 2010. Ron was the first living organ donor, to his twin brother, Richard. Joseph Murray, the plastic surgeon who convinced them and their surgical teams that he had figured a way around the immune response, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine.  He passed away on November 26th, 2012. I, Clark on LDO!, had the privilege of meeting both Ron and Dr. Murray twenty-one years ago.

Forty-second anniversary:
Jann K. Armantrout donated a kidney to sibling Mark J. Armantrout on December 12th, 1983 

Fortieth anniversary:
Robert A. Hancox donated a kidney to his sister on December 11th, 1985

Thirty-fourth anniversary:
Juanita DeVeaux donated a kidney to her daughter on December 4th, 1991

Thirty-first anniversary:
Natalie Cardoza donated a kidney to her sister on December 21st, 1994

Thirtieth anniversary:
Emmitt Lee Lewis donated a kidney to his little brother, Glen, on December 8th, 1995. Emmitt's daughter, Deborah Lewis-Grimes, says they were the first African-American living donor-recipient siblings in the US.
Sheila Leander donated a kidney to her husband, Brian, on December 27th, 1995

Twenty-ninth anniversary:
Gregory F. Welsh donated bone marrow to Maria Hall on December 6th, 1996

Twenty-sixth anniversary:
Heather Roberts donated a kidney to her father in December, 1999. He died in 2012, with kidney function still good.
Cheryl McCullough donated part of her liver to her husband on December 14th, 1999

Twenty-fourth anniversary:
Phillip Ondler donated a kidney to his sister on December 14th, 2001
Bob Jauch donated part on his liver to his daughter on December 20th, 2001
Janice O'Connell donated a kidney to friend on December 26th, 2001

Twenty-third anniversary:
Bill Shummel donated a kidney anonymously on December 17th, 2002

Twenty-second anniversary:
Micheline donated a kidney to a friend on December 5th, 2003
Kevin donated part of his liver to his father on December 8th, 2003
Barbara Sher Cohen donated a kidney to her brother on December 9th, 2003
Larry Miller donated a kidney to his daughter on December 16th, 2003
Melanie Wallace donated a kidney to a stranger on December 16th, 2003
Kathryn Jones donated part of her liver to a friend on December 18th, 2003.  Her friend died two months later.
Bev donated a kidney to a stranger on December 23, 2003
Elizabeth A. Miller donated a kidney to a friend on December 30th, 2003
Lisa Ornelas donated a kidney to her sister on December 30th, 2003

Twenty-first anniversary:
Sarah Wright donated a kidney to her brother on December 1st, 2004
Becky Livingston donated a kidney to her cousin on December 12th, 2004

Twentieth anniversary:
Mary Kirk donated a kidney to her brother-in-law on December 6th, 2005
Peggy Espinoza donated a kidney to her sister, Gloria, on December 6th, 2005
Charlotte Buckley donated a kidney to a friend's mother on December 7th, 2005
Jay Paustian donated a kidney to a friend on December 13th, 2005
Amanda Gedraitis donated a kidney anonymously on December 15th, 2005
Coleen Damon donated a kidney to her mother on December 27th, 2005
Doug Boston donated a kidney to an unrelated recipient on December 28th, 2005

Nineteenth anniversary:
Meghan McGrail donated a kidney to her uncle, Danny Cavicchi, on December 5th, 2006
Rick Hodgkins donated a kidney to his mother on December 7th, 2006
Brian Earnshaw donated a kidney to his uncle on December 12th, 2006
Wayne Ellenberger donated a kidney to a stranger on December 12th, 2006
Billie Ward donated part of her liver to an unrelated recipient on December 22nd, 2006
Mary Lou Hery donated a kidney to her daughter on December 22, 2006
Lisa donated a kidney to her daughter on December 27th, 2006

Eighteenth anniversary:
Louise in Canada donated a kidney to an anonymous unrelated recipient on December 3rd, 2007
Sylvia Toler donated a kidney to her husband, Steve, on December 4th, 2007
Connie Watts donated to her cousin on December 7th, 2007
Christine Robinson made a non-directed donation on December 11th, 2007
Brett Menzy donated a kidney to an unrelated recipient on December 18th, 2007
Eric Savage donated a kidney to his father on December 18th, 2007

Seventeenth anniversary:
Craig Tohill donated a kidney to his Aunt Sue on December 7th, 2008
Tom Moore donated a kidney to his brother on December 9th, 2008
Joshua donated a kidney to a stranger on December 10th, 2008
Philip R. Knisely donated a kidney to his co-worker, Jose Luis Vara, Jr., on December 30th, 2008

Sixteenth anniversary:
Rob Upham donated a kidney to Sandra Erice on December 7th, 2009
Pamela Hull donated a kidney in the 2009 Georgetown exchange (one of 13 donors) so her cousin could receive a kidney on December 8th, 2009
Bill Martinez donated a kidney to his cousin, Nicholas, on December 9th, 2009
Kimberly Jensen donated a kidney to an unrelated person, Bill Flitton, on December 9th, 2009
Matt Knowles donated a kidney to his wife on December 9th, 2009
Gina Mingrone became a non-directed donor in the New England Paired Kidney Exchange (NEPKE) on December 15th, 2009, initiating a chain of donors and recipients from Maine to New Jersey and back!
Kara Lucca donated a kidney as 1 of 13 donors in a nationwide chain on December 17th, 2009, while her husband was 1 of 13 recipients
Lori Wagner donated a kidney to her father on December 29th, 2009

Fifteenth anniversary:
Ellie started a non-directed kidney donor chain on December 16th, 2010

Fourteenth anniversary:
Jody Woodward made a non-directed kidney donation on December 8th, 2011
Curtis donated a kidney in a chain on December 12th, 2011
Stephanie Marie donated a kidney to Selina, an unrelated person, on December 13th, 2011
Jane donated a kidney to her brother Tom on December 14th, 2011
Lisa Goldberg donated a kidney to her father, Larry Berg, on December 15th, 2011
Kris Oien donated a kidney to Clifford, an unrelated person, on December 16th, 2011
TG Gordon donated a kidney to her brother on December 16th, 2011

Thirteenth anniversary:
Harjit Dhahan Hallan donated a kidney on December 10th, 2012
Charlotte Fox donated a kidney to her 6 year old daughter on December 13th, 2012
Donna Aronne donated a kidney to her husband on December 13th, 2012
Renee Romero donated a kidney to her father, Wendell Douberly, on December 21st, 2012

Twelfth anniversary:
Melissa Vizenor made an unrelated kidney donation to Rachel on December 2nd, 2013
Michaela donated a kidney to a stranger, Kieron, now a best friend, on December 5th, 2013
Sarah Beecher donated a kidney to her son on December 5th, 2013
Lisa Tabor McCrea donated a kidney to Ellen Garner, found on matchingdonors.com, on December 13th, 2013
Joyce Anne donated a kidney to her older sister, Joanna, on December 16th, 2013
Kevin Slifka donated a kidney to his nephew on December 17th, 2013
Alex Wollangk donated a kidney to an unrelated person, Ron Schwalbach, on December 19th, 2013
Cynthia Hawkins Lindell was a non directed kidney donor on December 19th, 2013
Karen Whiteford donated a kidney to her brother, Thomas Mercier, on December 20th, 2013
David Taylor donated a kidney to his son, Dale, on December 23rd, 2013

Eleventh anniversary:
Lynn Bolduc was a non directed kidney donor on December 8th, 2014
Laura R. Friedeberg donated a kidney to her mother, Ursula, on December 17th, 2014

Ninth anniversary:
Rebecca O'Marrah donated part of her liver to her friend, Kelly Drey, on December 7th, 2016

Seventh anniversary:
Andrea Armida Yochim donated a kidney to Yuri Miguel Carrarierro on December 19th, 2018

First anniversary:
Sinai Knight donated a kidney to her husband, Purnell, on December 6th, 2024

https://livingdonorsonline.org/donor-experiences/donation-anniversaries/

https://www.livingdonorassistance.org/Get-Help/Who-can-Apply

Who can apply?

En Español

A living organ donor and their recipient apply together for the Living Organ Donation Reimbursement Program.
While this program helps donors, a donor and their recipient will both need to:

• Be eligible to apply
• Fill out an application

An organ donor and recipient can apply if:

• The donor is planning to donate one of these organs:
  
  • Kidney
  • Liver
  • Uterus
  • Intestine
  • Lung
• The recipient meets the income guidelines or has financial hardship
• The donor and recipient are U.S. citizens or lawfully present residents
• The donor and recipient live in the U.S. or its territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

...

https://www.cureus.com/articles/389422-long-term-follow-up-of-kidney-donors-in-a-tertiary-care-hospital?score_article=true#!/

Long-Term Follow-Up of Kidney Donors in a Tertiary Care Hospital
A P, N S, Kaliaperumal T, et al. (December 04, 2025) 
Long-Term Follow-Up of Kidney Donors in a Tertiary Care Hospital. 
Cureus 17(12): e98478. doi:10.7759/cureus.98478

Abstract
Aim: To estimate the proportion of living kidney donors (completed one year post-donation) who have developed proteinuria, an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m², hypertension, or suboptimal renal compensation (defined as <70% of pre-donation glomerular filtration rate (GFR)) during post-donation follow-up. The study also aimed to evaluate the association between donor-related factors and clinical outcomes. To assess the emotional well-being and overall satisfaction of donors through structured, in-person interviews.
Patients and methods: A cross-sectional prospective study design was undertaken to contact all donors of recipients under regular review who had completed at least one year post-donation. Among approximately 250 living renal transplant recipients in active follow-up, about 200 corresponding donors had crossed the one-year post-donation period. Of these, 160 donors responded to the call for follow-up, and 140 completed a comprehensive clinical and laboratory assessment in accordance with the institutional follow-up protocol. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants, and pre-donation records were retrieved for comparative analysis. The emotional well-being and overall satisfaction of donors were assessed through structured, in-person (in formal) interviews. Results were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics Software, version 20.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, USA).
Results: The mean age at donation was 45.4 ± 9.4 years (range: 20-69 years), and the mean age at follow-up was 51.5 ± 9.9 years. The median duration of follow-up was 7 ± 4 years (interquartile range (IQR): 1-23 years), with 30% (n = 42) of donors followed for more than 10 years post-donation. Female donors predominated (77.2%; n = 108), yielding a female-to-male ratio of approximately 3.4:1. Mothers constituted the largest donor subgroup (52.8%; n = 74). Perioperative complications occurred in 8% (n = 7) of donors. Hypertension was noted in 34 (24.3%). Proteinuria (protein-to-creatinine ratio (PCR) > 0.2) was seen in 34 donors (24.3%). Mean eGFR pre- and post-donation was 91.6 ± 16.0 ml/min and 80.3 ± 18.5 ml/min, with a decline of 11 ml/min. One hundred twenty-two donors (87.1%) have eGFR >60 ml/min/1.73 m2. Overall, 84.3% (n = 118) achieved optimal and 15.7% (n = 22) showed suboptimal compensation. On multivariate analysis, only suboptimal renal compensation remained an independent predictor of eGFR < 60 ml/min (adjusted OR: 31.43; 95% CI: 7.19-137.2; p < 0.001). Neither donor age nor gender showed a significant association with outcomes such as proteinuria, hypertension, eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2, and suboptimal compensation. A vast majority (91%, n = 127) expressed happiness and complete satisfaction with their decision to donate.
Conclusion: In this cohort, female predominance reflected persistent sociocultural patterns. The prevalence of hypertension was comparable to that of the general population. These findings reinforce that modest post-donation changes in proteinuria or eGFR should not discourage donation, given its profound benefits to recipients, donors, and society. Establishing dedicated renal donor clinics for structured, lifelong surveillance is vital to safeguard donor health.

Dear Karli,

  Welcome! We hope you find answers to questions here and the support other donors can provide as you walk this path. May I suggest you consider starting with your primary care physician, and in addition to asking their thoughts on your intentions, ask them which nearby facility would they suggest you start at? If you intend to make a donation and do not yet have a recipient in mind, any transplant center can help you become a non-directed donor to a person in need. Best wishes!

To anyone reading this a loved one fighting kidney disease: I am ready to be tested to see if I can be their living kidney donor. My commitment is to a process that is 100% legal, ethical, and guided by medical professionals to ensure everyone's safety. If you have a mother, father, spouse, or friend in need, please have their transplant coordinator contact me. Let's see if I can help give them the future they deserve.

https://zenodo.org/records/17591291

The illicit Organ Trade: Biographical, Anatomical, Economic and Legal Aspects

JOURNAL
OF
ACADEMICS STAND AGAINST POVERTY
Volume 6, 2025: pages 86-102
Research Paper
Journal of Academics Stand Against Poverty, 2025, 6, 86-102
The Illicit Organ Trade:
Biographical, Anatomical, Economic and Legal Aspects
Nater Paul Akpen
College of Health Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria. ORCID: 0009-0009-0446-1043
e-ISSN 2690-3458 ISSN 2690-3431

A kidney can cost up to USD 200,000. Humans have two kidneys but normally require just one to live. Individuals can donate one to relatives for altruistic reasons. But to pay USD 200,000 - or any other amount - to obtain a kidney, no country in the world allows that. Except for Iran. This global blanket ban has pushed the trade of organs underground and it now ranks as the fourth most lucrative illegal activity – behind only drugs, arms, and human trafficking. Rising incidence of end-stage kidney disease will increase demand for replacement kidneys, both gifted and bought. This essay studies this trade using two case studies, one of a Nigerian leading legislator arrested in the UK for getting a kidney for his daughter and another on kidney demand in Iran where trade in organs is permitted. The global value of the trade is studied, and literature gaps are discussed. The inadequacies of the current system are highlighted and improvements suggested, based on best practices around the world.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-ai-donor-livers-viable-potentially.html

AI predicts when donor livers are viable, potentially slashing canceled transplants by 60%
by Stanford University Medical Center
edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan

There are more candidates on the waitlist for a liver transplant than there are available organs, yet about half the time a match is found with a donor who dies after cardiac arrest following the removal of life support, the transplant must be canceled.

For this type of organ donation, called donation after circulatory death, the time between the removal of life support and death must not exceed 30 to 45 minutes, or the surgeons will often reject the liver because of the increased risk of complications to the recipient.
Now, Stanford Medicine researchers have developed a machine learning-based model that predicts whether a donor is likely to die within the time frame during which their organs are viable for transplantation. The model outperformed surgeon judgment and reduced the rate of futile procurements—which occur when transplant preparations have begun but death happens too late—by 60%.
"By identifying when an organ is likely to be useful before any preparations for surgery have started, this model could make the transplant process more efficient," said Kazunari Sasaki, MD, clinical professor of abdominal transplantation and senior author on the study. "It also has the potential to allow more candidates who need an organ transplant to receive one."
The work is published in Lancet Digital Health. The lead author of the study is Rintaro Yanagawa of Kyoto University.
Making liver donation more efficient
For people with end-stage liver disease, which consists of severe and irreversible damage to the organ, the best treatment option is a transplant.

The number of people who need a liver exceeds the number of donors, but the gap is starting to narrow due to devices that carry out normothermic machine perfusion, a technique that keeps organs at the ideal temperature and supplied with oxygen while they travel from the donor to the recipient. These devices have made it possible for organs from donation after circulatory death to be used for transplants.
While most liver donations come from donors who suffered brain death, the number of donations after circulatory death is growing.
"The number of liver transplants keeps going up because of donation after circulatory death, and the waitlist is getting smaller. In the future, it might be possible for everyone who needs a liver transplant to get one from a deceased donor," Sasaki said.
A third type of liver transplantation, living donation, involves removing part of a healthy person's liver to transplant—which is possible because the liver can regenerate. While "it's a beautiful story," Sasaki said of living donation, "any major surgery is not without risk to the healthy donor."
There is a challenge to donation after circulatory death, however: time.
While the donor is dying, the blood supply to organs throughout the body can vary and, in some cases, stop altogether, leading to liver damage. The liver contains a network of pipes called ducts that squeeze out bile, a fluid that helps us digest food, to the gallbladder and intestines.
A long time between the cessation of life support and the donor's time of death is associated with malfunctioning ducts and serious complications for transplant recipients. If the donor's time of death happens more than 30 minutes after blood flow starts to decrease to the body's organs, the liver might not be useful for transplantation.
About half of the possible donors die within the first 30 minutes after life support is removed. When death occurs later, between 30 and 60 minutes after life support ends, surgeons use their judgment to determine which donors are the best candidates by considering the donor's vital signs, blood work, and neurological information such as the pupil and gag reflex.
Still, about half of the transplantations need to be canceled because death occurred too late. Knowing where to allocate resources, such as normothermic machine perfusion devices, can save money and streamline the workload of transplant health care workers, Sasaki explained.
Competing machine-learning algorithms
To predict the time of death, the model uses an array of clinical information from the donor including gender, age, body mass index, blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, urine output, blood work test results and cardiovascular health history.
The model also considers the ventilator settings, which indicate how much help someone needs to breathe, in addition to neurological assessments of how conscious the patient, as well as pupil, corneal, cough, gag and motor reflexes.
The research team pitted numerous machine-learning algorithms against each other to find the one that best predicted the time of death using the same information available to surgeons. The winning algorithm was more accurate than surgeons and other available computerized tools at predicting whether the donor's time of death would happen within the acceptable time frame for a successful transplant.
The model was trained and validated on more than 2,000 real-world cases from six U.S. transplant centers.
The model accurately predicts the donor's time of death 75% of the time, outperforming both existing tools and the average judgment of surgeons, who accurately predicted the time of death 65% of the time. It also makes accurate predictions for cases with information missing from the medical record.
The research team designed the model to be customizable so it can handle different surgeon preferences and hospital procedures. For example, the model can be set to calculate the time of death from when life support is removed or from when agonal breathing, a gasping breathing pattern that happens as a body is dying, begins.
The researchers have also developed a natural language interface, similar to ChatGPT, that pulls information from the donor medical record into the model.

Minimizing missed opportunities
Sometimes death unexpectedly occurs within the time frame when organs are suitable for transplantation, but because preparations must be underway before the donor dies, these cases do not result in a transplant. The rate of these missed opportunities was similar for the model and surgeon judgment: both were just over 15%.
Because artificial intelligence is rapidly advancing, the researchers expect that the model's accuracy in predicting time of death will improve and that it will catch more missed opportunities.
"We are now working on decreasing the missed opportunity rate because it is in the patients' best interest that those who need transplants receive them," Sasaki said.
"We continue to refine the model by having competition among available machine learning algorithms, and we recently found an algorithm that achieves the same accuracy in predicting the time of death but with a missed opportunity rate of about 10%."
The research team is also working on variations of the model for use in heart and lung transplants.
Researchers from the International University of Health and Welfare, Duke University School of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, University of Rochester Medical Center, University of Florida College of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University Health, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and Transmedics, Inc. contributed to this study.
More information: The Lancet Digital Health (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.landig.2025.10091