Approximately 100,000 Americans are on the waitlist for a kidney transplant.
Living-donor kidney transplant:
Register to become a living donor at UPMC Montefiore or UPMC Hamot.
UPMC Montefiore 412-647-5800
UPMC Hamot 814-877-3625
UPMC Harrisburg 877-778-6110
There are two options for kidney transplants: living donors and deceased donors. With some kidney transplants, surgeons remove the organ from a deceased donor. At UPMC, we believe in the power of living donation and consider it a first-line treatment option.
During a living-donor kidney transplant, a surgeon will remove a healthy kidney from a living donor — whether a relative, friend, or stranger — and transplant it into the person with kidney failure.
UPMC is pleased to offer the opportunity for potential living kidney donors to speak with someone who has already been a living donor. If you’d like to connect with a mentor who can share their personal experience with you, please reach out to Cherie Peters, living donation liaison, at petersc5@upmc.edu or 412-215-2051.
Our Living Donation Liaison offers online training sessions each month to educate those who need kidney transplants – and their support people – on the process of finding a living donor. Participants learn about the benefits of living donation, common concerns, best practices, and ideas to start or expand their search.
By the end of the training sessions, participants will have a written plan for taking action. The online trainings are held the 3rd Tuesday of each month at noon, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., and they last about 90 minutes. To sign up for a free training session, contact Cherie Peters at 412-215-2051 or email petersc5@upmc.edu.
Interested in receiving weekly updates to keep you in-the-know about UPMC Transplant Services? Text TRANSPLANT to 91939 to opt in to messages about our services and more. View our terms of use.
UPMC's kidney transplant team works with potential kidney donors and recipients throughout the entire living-donor kidney transplant process.
Before the surgery, we make sure donors can return to living full and active lives with one kidney.
If you're thinking of donating your kidney, find out more:
When his father-in-law David needed a kidney transplant, Ray stepped in as a living donor.
Read their story.
As the nation's first pediatric transplant program, the Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh has performed more pediatric transplants that any other pediatric center in the United States.
Learn more about pediatric transplants
