Questions About Donating A Kidney
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There are a few options, all of which are completely confidential, can be done local to where you live, and will have all costs will go through my insurance.
The best place to start is filling out the initial screening through my transplant center at uofulivingdonor.org. Information will be reviewed by a living donor coordinator who will follow up with you on next steps for evaluation.
Or you can simply reach out to your local hospital or transplant center of your choosing to get evaluated and apply.
My information to provide is Benjamin Burkholz, birth date 01/03/1989.
Or you can reach out directly to my transplant center for direction through email or phone found in the link below.
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It is 100% your choice. You can donate at the same hospital, a different hospital, or even a hospital in a different state! You just need to be approved at the hospital you choose.
And yes, that means the system is flying organs around the country all the time!
All costs will still go through my insurance no matter where you choose.
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If you’re a match with me, great! If not a match, you can donate through a paired exchange program, whereby you donate your kidney to another family’s recipient, and that family will have a donor for me. In a paired exchange, multiple families can benefit at the same time from just one person’s choice to donate.
There is also a voucher system, whereby the donor gives a kidney now to a stranger on my behalf. Then, I get a ‘voucher’ that will prioritize me in the system for a future transplant.
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Provide your hospital with my information below:
Benjamin Burkholz, birth date 01/03/1989.
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The process starts with a health questionnaire through the transplant center you choose. Then the process can take place in 1-3 months based on your schedule, and requires simple blood and urine testing, imaging, and consultations with doctors and social workers. The testing is to make sure that you have good kidney function, you are otherwise healthy, and understand the process
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We are born with two kidneys but only need one to live a long and healthy life. Since only healthy individuals are selected, donors typically have a longer lifespan than the average person. It’s really incredible!
Living kidney donation from healthy individuals is very low-risk, and the vast majority of living kidney donors experience no complications or long-term negative effects.
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All costs will go through my insurance, so it should cost you nothing!
This includes the donor evaluation, surgery, and recovery. Many states, including Utah, provide financial and legal protections for donors. There are also national programs that provide additional assistance to potential costs outside of insurance coverage including wages for time off, travel expenses, lodging, childcare and more.
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The health outcomes with living kidney donation are significantly better than with deceased donation.
The average kidney from a living donor lasts 20-40 years vs. 8-15 years from a deceased donor. The typical wait time for a kidney patient to find a matched kidney from a living donor through the NKR is 120 days vs. 2-10 years as the typical wait time for a deceased kidney donor.
Learn more in this brochure from the National Kidney Registry:
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Technically no. Some hospitals have a cut-off around 70, but it ultimately depends on the health of the donor being evaluated
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Absolutely, this is 100% your call
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Selena Gomez, Sarah Hyland, Tracy Morgan, and Nate Robinson to name a few celebrities that have received a kidney. I will be added to that list in no time!
Some famous donors include Jesse Eisenberg and Francia Raisa.