Donating a Kidney

Donating a kidney is a selfless and courageous act. Whether you’re donating to a family member or friend, or looking to donate altrusically - you’ll be able to find a number of useful resources on this page.

Live kidney donation is considered the best treatment for someone who has kidney disease. Donating a kidney will make a real difference to the life of a person with kidney disease. But, it is a big decision. You need to have a good understanding of what live kidney donation is all about.

Donation Overview

To donate a kidney, you need to be over 18 years old, and in good health with two healthy kidneys.

You can donate a kidney to a member of your family, a friend or, if you agree, your kidney can be used in the Australian and New Zealand Paired Kidney Exchange Program (ANZKX) programme.

Donating to someone you know, like a family member or a friend, is called ‘directed’ donation. This is because you ‘direct’ that your kidney goes to a particular recipient.

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Donating to someone you don’t know is called ‘nondirected’ donation. In this case, you cannot say who receives your kidney. The kidney is given to the most suitable person on the kidney transplant waiting list or you may be able to start a kidney exchange chain of transplants.

You can’t donate a kidney if you have a medical condition like diabetes, cancer or poorly-controlled blood pressure, are very overweight or have serious mental health problems.

If you decide you want to be a kidney donor, you will need to get in touch with the renal (kidney) transplant co-ordinator at the nearest hospital that has a renal (kidney) specialist service.

Transplant co-ordinator contact details can be found here.

To understand more about kidney donation, please visit Live Kidney Donation Aotearoa and read their resource “Becoming a Live Kidney Donor.”

Compensation for Live Organ Donation

Live donation of a kidney, or part of a liver, can significantly improve the duration and quality of life for many people. Removing barriers to live organ donation is important to help people get the transplant they need.

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You may be entitled to 100 percent compensation for loss of earnings if you donate a live organ. This compensation is paid for up to 12 weeks from the date you have your surgery and while you recover. However, you won’t be entitled to compensation if you use annual leave or sick leave to go through the donation process, because it’s only available for loss of earnings. If you are on a benefit but also earn an income, you may be entitled to some compensation and should talk to Work and Income about your options.

You do not have to be living in New Zealand to qualify for live organ donation compensation, however, your surgery must take place in New Zealand and the person receiving the organ must be eligible for publicly funded health services in New Zealand. You can donate an organ if you have successfully completed medical tests and checks to make sure this type of surgery is suitable for you.

If you are thinking of donating your kidney, please contact the transplant coordinator or renal social worker at your nearest hospital.

If you wish to donate part of your liver, please contact Auckland Hospital.

Links & Resources