A living kidney donor is a person who gives one of their healthy kidneys to someone with kidney failure who needs a transplant (the recipient). This could be a friend or family member, or someone they do not already know. In the UK living kidney transplants have been performed since 1960 and currently around 1,100 such operations are performed each year, with a very high success rate.
The most commonly donated organ by a living person is a kidney. A healthy person can lead a normal life with only one functioning kidney and therefore they are able to donate the other to help someone in need of a kidney transplant. Part of a liver can also be transplanted from a living donor to help someone in need of a liver transplant.
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