The National Kidney Registry Voucher Program
The National Kidney Registry (NKR) offers several programs that help people who are considering being someone’s living kidney donor (Daniella’s!), and want to be evaluated as a possible candidate.
You can chose at which hospital you want to have have your medical evaluation and the procedure. Over 102 hospitals across the United States participate in the program.
If it turns out after the evaluation , you are a good candidate to be a donor, but you are not a match with the person that you want to donate to —- you can still help the person you want to donate to. You would not donate directly to Daniella, but instead you would be part of a pair (or multiple pairs), in which you donate to someone who is a match, or a better match, for your kidney. This is called the “Voucher Program,” and after your donation, Daniella gets a voucher which she can then use to receive her kidney transplant at her transplant center.
So you give to someone in need who best matches your kidney, and in turn, Daniella receives a kidney from another donor who best matches her.
The National Kidney Registry has very advanced methods of matching for kidney transplants which gives the donor the best match, and the best chance of a long life with that kidney. In this way, you not only are helping Daniella, but also many other patients who may be part of the exchange. You would be saving more than one life!
To learn more about the NKR standard voucher program:
