A kidney exchange is an innovative twist on efforts aimed at increasing the donor pool by giving people who are unable to receive a kidney from a loved one or friend the opportunity to still receive a kidney through an exchange between incompatible donor-recipient pairs. Approximately one-third of patients who have a willing living kidney donor will not be able to receive the donor kidney because of an incompatible blood type or incompatible crossmatch. In the past, that would mean that patients often would have to wait for years on dialysis until a deceased donor kidney became available.
Now, with this exciting new program, you can exchange donors with another pair(s) in a similar situation as you, making transplantation possible.
UCLA's Kidney Transplantation Program performed some of the earliest transplantations in the United States, and for more than 50 years has been a national leader in both clinical research and academic excellence. UCLA is one of the largest kidney transplant programs in the country, performing more than 300 transplantations each year. More importantly, UCLA has some of the best outcomes, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, a national database of organ transplant statistics. UCLA's program has helped to pioneer donor exchanges, and performed the first transcontinental chain in July 2008.
Visit our FAQs page to learn more about kidney exchange and how you can get started »
"It's beautiful to see a donor helping his or her loved one as well as a total stranger. This program has the potential to dramatically increase the number of transplants performed in the United States."
- Dr. Jeffrey Veale, UCLA kidney transplant surgeon
Connie Frank Kidney Transplant Center
200 UCLA Medical Plaza, Suite 565
Los Angeles, CA 90095
(310) 267-6907
transplants.ucla.edu/KidneyExchange
