A paired kidney exchange, also known as a “kidney swap” occurs when a living kidney donor is incompatible with the recipient, and so exchanges kidneys with another donor/recipient pair.
Paired donation creates a pathway for living donors and their incompatible recipients to find compatible matches. Paired donation breaks chains by making them. Living donors not only save lives, they help provide longer lives. On average, transplants from living donors increase survival rates by almost 12 years compared to those who receive kidneys from deceased donors
Two live donor transplants would occur. Suppose there were two donor/recipient pairs, Donor and Recipient 1 and Donor and Recipient 2:
This kidney paired donation transplant enables two incompatible recipients to receive healthy, more compatible kidneys.
Participating in the paired kidney exchange allows for a recipient to receive a better matched kidney, and helps other individuals who would otherwise continue to wait for a matched donor. Approximately 45% of donor/recipient pairs could find a perfectly matched donor by entering the paired kidney transplant.
