I Want to Donate a Kidney to a Stranger
Donating a kidney to a stranger can help someone live a longer, healthier life. Over 100,000 people are in need of a kidney transplant. Roughly 6,000 people donate their kidney every year. Less than 5% of those 6,000 living kidney donors donate to someone that they do not know; this type of donor is known as a Good Samaritan donor and there are multiple paths for Good Samaritans to go down if they wish to donate.
Family Voucher Donation: By donating through the Family Voucher Program, you can donate to a stranger now and create up to five vouchers for your healthy family members should someone you love need a kidney in the future.
Start a Chain: By donating as a non-directed donor through the National Kidney Registry, you can start a chain and help more than just one person get a kidney. All donors who donate through the NKR, either through chain donation or the Voucher Program, are eligible for the support and protections covered by Donor Shield.
Donate Through a Microsite: A microsite is a free website offered through the National Kidney Registry that can help someone in need of a kidney transplant find a living kidney donor. If you want to donate a kidney to someone with a microsite, you can start the process right through the microsite and donate on their behalf through the Standard Voucher program.
Donate to the Deceased Donor Waitlist: The original form of Good Samaritan donation is to donate to a patient on the deceased donor waitlist. Most Good Samaritan donors choose to donate through the Voucher Program or start a chain so that they can help as many people as possible. An important thing to remember is that donating through either of those programs improves the deceased donor waitlist situation as it removes one or more people from that waitlist.
Donating a kidney comes with risks, which we explain on the Kidney Donation Risks page. If you are not comfortable with these risks or if you are looking to be compensated, we encourage you to not pursue kidney donation.