Living donation coordination

The first successful kidney transplant was performed in Boston in 1954 after a living kidney donation in which a twin (Richard and Ronald Herrick) donated for his brother. This kidney worked in the recipient's body for eight years. The donor also lived a long, healthy life. Today, much has evolved in this area; almost anyone can now donate a kidney for someone emotionally close to them - regardless of blood type (AB0-incompatible living kidney donation) or age. The legal regulation of a living donation is presented in §8 of the Transplantation Act (TPG).

Who can donate?

In principle, only people who are of age and capable of giving consent can donate a kidney if they are obviously (e.g. first or second degree relatives, spouses, registered civil partners, fiancées) or emotionally (close friends) close to the recipient. Furthermore, there must be consent for kidney donation and the donor must be suitable according to medical assessment.

Who cannot donate?

  •     Minors
  •     People who are older than 70 years
  •     People suffering from severe pre-existing conditions such as diabetes mellitus (diabetes), heart attack or stroke, which may be associated with or already have kidney function impairment, as well as kidney diseases such as kidney stones
  •     A tumor condition also does not make living kidney donation possible.
  •     People with a BMI (body mass index) >30


And the recipient?

The recipient himself must be on the waiting list for a post-mortem donated kidney at the time of kidney donation. The so-called subsidiarity principle always applies (i.e. a post-mortem donation is always preferable to a living donation).

Living donation involves the surgical removal of a kidney. Special precautions must be taken because there are risks associated with the donation surgery. The risk of the procedure to the donor is not outweighed by any expected benefit to the donor. Extensive research is performed to minimize the risk to the donor.

All inquiries concerning the recipient, whether before or after transplantation, should always be directed to the following telephone number: 0511 532-9559.

The Living Donation Coordination deals exclusively with the concerns of potential donors.


 

 

LSP-Registration form

The procedure…

After the first contact with us by you or the treating nephrologist, we ask you to fill out a registration form with contact data of recipient and possible donor and to send us initial findings regarding the donor's health. You can request this form electronically, by phone or by mail. Our coordinators will be happy to assist you at any time. The data is of course subject to confidentiality. The registration form can also be downloaded here. Without a completed living donation form, no examination of a possible donation operation is possible.

For the presentation in our transplantation outpatient clinic, both the recipient and the donor need their own referral, both before and after the transplantation. This must ALWAYS be made out to the recipient - for the donor, the information "Living donation evaluation (+ name + date of birth of the donor)" or "Follow-up after living kidney donation (+ name + date of birth of the donor)" is added. For better clarification, we have posted a sample referral (here before donation, the sample referral after donation can be found a little further down the page) for both parties involved.


Remember that it is mandatory that the recipient is already on the waiting list for post-mortem donation at this time.

After receipt of the contact details and review of the initial information sent, you will get to know us in an initial consultation. In addition to a discussion of the findings and a physical examination, an extended diagnosis of laboratory values (urine, blood, genetics) will take place. We also talk for the first time about the procedure of a possible donation operation, its risks and what happens afterwards.
If the findings still allow a donation, an extended diagnosis will take place, which you can either have performed at home (outpatient) or at our clinic during a three-day inpatient stay. If these findings are also desirably unremarkable, we invite donor and recipient to a legally required psychosomatic evaluation.

This is followed by a second consultation with a further discussion of the findings and the definitive explanation of the possible donation operation. The appointment for your presentation to the Living Donation Commission of the State Medical Association, which verifies the voluntary nature of the donation in a personal interview lasting about 20 minutes, is also made at this meeting.

In the case of a blood group-incompatible donation, the recipient undergoes pre-treatment with our experienced specialists in nephrology prior to transplantation.

For the operation, the recipient and donor arrive at our transplant ward 85 one day before the scheduled date with an inpatient admission. The operations (donation and transplantation) then take place one day directly after the other. The donor remains at home for about 3-5 days after the operation. The recipient must expect a hospital stay of between 10 and 14 days. If desired, a joint follow-up treatment can follow. Our social service staff will be happy to advise you on this during your inpatient stay and will take care of the application to the recipient's health insurance company. This is because the health insurance company is responsible for covering the costs of travel (if medically necessary) as well as all examination and treatment costs, including those of the donor. Thus, all referrals/referrals of the donor must be issued by the responsible physician to the recipient with the corresponding note regarding a living donation. Here, too, the coordinators are available to you as well as to the doctors as contact persons.
And afterwards?

All treatments and examinations after organ donation take place for both recipients and donors in the Kidney Transplant Outpatient Clinic. Remember that even after donation, referrals must always go through the recipient or their health insurance company. For better understanding we have attached a sample referral for the donor.
Regarding questions about the financial and legal protection of the donor, we would like to recommend the following internet address:  Transplantation verstehen

Contact:

Coordinators: Mrs. Susann Schumann, Mrs. Christel Koczur
☎  0511 532 - 6303/9327
Fax:  0511 532 - 3106
E-Mail: lebendspende(at)mh-hannover.de

Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
Lebendspende OE 1124
Frau Susann Schumann
Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1
30625 Hannover