First living kidney donor program starts in Austin
AUSTIN (KXAN) — St. David's North Austin Medical center and Donate Life America announced the first living kidney donor in the U.S. on Thursday after a successful procedure in July.
Donate Life America started the National Donate Life Living Donor Registry program through a grant made by the Fresenius Medical Care Foundation, which invests in innovative solutions and programs to advance transplants as lifesaving solutions.
The program is currently only available in Texas and allows ages 18-65 to register as becoming living kidney donors in addition to deceased donors.
Camden Underwood was the first person on the Living Donor Registry to have the procedure. The surgery was completed by Koushik Shaw, M.D, on July 12. Underwood's kidney was given anonymously to an individual waiting for a kidney transplant.
In a press release, Jacqueline Lappin, M.D., the surgical director of the Kidney Transplant Center at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center, said the center is proud to make living kidney donation more accessible.
"A living donor kidney is the gold standard of kidney transplants. A living donor kidney is lifesaving," Lappin said. "It is a lower-risk procedure compared to a deceased donor transplant since the living donor kidney is more likely to be successful in the recipient. This new registry will help increase the availability of kidneys with more life-giving quality for patients who need one."
In the future, Donate Life America has plans to launch the program nationwide to reduce access barriers for potential living donors. Before this registry's implementation, interested donors faced obstacles in how to research, arrange, and choose a kidney transplant center, according to the press release.
"This path will help walk people through the process, easily connecting them with transplant programs and reducing access barriers for potential living donors," said the CEO of Donate Life America.
To learn more about Donate Life America and living donation, visit DonateLife.net.
If you're interested in becoming an organ, eye, or tissue donor, register online.
More information about the Kidney Transplant Center at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center can be found at stdavids.com.