Living Donors

Do you know that donated blood is a critical part of successful organ transplants?

American Red Cross Pacific Northwest Regional Blood Services needs at least 1,000 blood donors every day to meet the medical needs of patients, including transplant recipients. Donating blood is just one way you can help patients right now.

A living donor can donate a single kidney, a lobe of a lung, or a segment of a liver or pancreas. An individual between the ages of 18 and 60 may donate bone marrow. Individuals age 16 or older who are in good health and at least 110 pounds may donate blood and platelets with parental consent.

To make more organs available, and because some forms of kidney disease have genetic components that make family members less than ideal donors, an increasing number of living kidney donors are friends or spouses, but not biological relatives of transplant recipients. In Oregon living kidney donation does not occur between strangers.

Hearts and segmental portions of liver, pancreas and lung may also be used in living-donor transplants. Living individuals donate hearts only when they are the recipients of a heart and lungs from a non-living donor. In such cases, the heart-lung recipient's healthy heart is transplanted into another patient awaiting a heart transplant.

When liver, pancreas or lung donors are living donors, only a segment of the donated organ is removed from the donor and transplanted into the recipient. The liver regenerates in size in both donor and recipient in 2-3 months.

Bone marrow transplantation has become the only real "cure" for many diseases: leukemia, anemias, lymphomas and other life-threatening blood diseases. Each year more than 30,000 people need a marrow transplant. Anyone between the ages of 18-60 can become a marrow donor. Bone marrow can be donated anonymously. Contact the Marrow Donor Services at 888-298-6722.

Individuals interested in donating blood or platelets should contact the American Red Cross at 1.800.GIVE LIFE (1.800.448.3543).