Types of Donors

For both kidney and simultaneous kidney-pancreas (SKP) transplants, two types of donors exist:

  • Living donor
  • Deceased donor

In either case, the donor must be a match with you.

For living donors, the best results are usually seen with a closely matched kidney from a living donor (usually a sibling). The next best results are seen with a kidney from a less closely matched living donor (such as a spouse or friend).

For SKP transplants, the best results are usually seen when both the pancreas and a kidney come from the same deceased donor, as the risk of rejection is significantly reduced.

How Is a Match Determined?

Three main tests are completed to determine if a patient and a potential donor are a kidney match: blood typing, tissue typing, and cross-matching. Blood type matches are the first test to be completed, and the recipient and donor must be a match in order to proceed.

Tissue typing (HLA match) is not as straightforward, as each person's tissues are generally different from everyone else's — except in the case of identical twins. The better the HLA match, the more successful the transplant will be in the long term.

The best HLA matches are generally between a parent and child — at least a 50 percent chance of matching. Matches between siblings can vary from zero to 100 percent, and unrelated donors would be the least likely match. Matches are based on 12 markers, and a 12-out-of-12 match (zero mismatch) is possible for a patient with a very common HLA type, even with an unrelated, deceased donor.