Risks of Paired Exchanges

Paired kidney exchanges come with their own specific risks:

  • Since multiple patients need to be medically cleared for surgery, there is a higher chance that the transplants will be delayed because one of the participating patients isn't ready.
  • There is a risk that one of the kidneys in the exchange is unusable.
  • Both donor operations are usually performed at the same time so that none of the donors change their mind after the other donor gives up a kidney.

The donors do not have control over who receives their kidney or how the recipient treats their new kidney.

Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program

The first kidney transplantation was performed at Stanford in 1960. Since its inception, our program has performed more than 1,200 kidney transplants.
Boswell Building
300 Pasteur Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Phone: 650-725-9891
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