Penn Medicine launches new Center for Living Donation to increase transplant opportunities for those in need of livers or kidneys
The Penn Transplant Institute at Penn Medicine has opened a new Center for Living Donation, which will expand Penn’s exceptional care for living donors, helping to maximize the number of lives saved through liver and kidney transplantation. For the thousands waiting on a lifesaving organ, living donation—when a living person donates an organ, or part of an organ, for transplantation to another person—can help those in need receive life-saving care sooner.
The center’s experts will continue to provide high-quality care for transplant patients and donors, while creating more opportunities for those in need of transplants to receive the organs they need—and a chance at a healthy future. The center will also work to educate the greater Philadelphia community about the safety and impact of living-donor transplants through community events, informational sessions, partnerships with local organizations, and marketing campaigns.
The center will counsel and care for interested donors—both those who already have a potential individual they hope to donate to, or those who would be willing to participate in a paired-kidney exchange, or donate to anyone in need through a non-directed donation to the United States transplant waiting list.
The center has also begun a donor mentor program where prospective donors can speak to individuals who have already been through the process of donation. These connections can help donors feel more comfortable and informed about donation and recovery.
There are no medical costs for living donors throughout the entire donation process. For those interested in donating but who are concerned about potential costs associated with lodging or being out of work during any necessary recovery, the center’s patient navigators connect them directly with organizations that help fund living donors.
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania release on Newswise
