UR Medicine / Transplant Institute / Live Donor

Living Donor Transplant at UR Medicine

Upstate New York's Top Living Donor Transplant Program

A transplant offers hope, but waiting for an organ can be difficult. Some patients can wait up to a year.

This is why live donor transplants are an important and sometimes lifesaving option. With live donation, the patient does not need to wait for an organ to become available. They need to have a family member or friend who is willing and able to donate their organ.

At UR Medicine, we offer live donor transplants for the liver and kidney. We are the only live donor liver transplant program in upstate New York.

Meet With Us to Learn More

Preparing for a kidney or liver transplant can be difficult, but the team at UR Medicine is here to help you. We can help you learn more about this process and get you on the path to the treatment that is right for you

For more information regarding living donor transplant, please call (585) 275-5875

Start Your Journey First Name:

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For those looking to donate, enter the name of the recipient you have in mind or leave blank if you do not have someone in mind.

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Organ Donation from Living Donors

Transplant surgeons at the University of Rochester Medical Center use a minimally invasive procedure to remove a section or whole organs from living donors. Each year, hundreds of people in the Greater Rochester area wait for donor organs. Traditionally, deceased donor organs, those removed from a healthy person after a sudden accident or illness, were the only option for patients needing a transplant. Due to a shortage of deceased donor organs, the number of patients waiting for a transplant in the United States has grown dramatically. Transplant patients are forced to endure longer waiting times and may become quite ill before they receive an organ, and in some instances, are too ill to undergo transplant surgery.

Living donor organs lessen the need for deceased donor organs and offer new hope for transplant recipients including those with liver cancer.

Download the Living Kidney Donor Handbook

2 Buffalo Men + 1 Kidney Transplant = Lifelong Bond

Scott Dodson, golf superintendent at a country club in Buffalo, had experienced hereditary kidney issues for more than a decade. As his condition worsened, he was added to the transplant waiting list at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. The Solid Organ Transplant team also suggested the possibility of a living kidney donor.

Scott’s colleagues with the WNY Golf Course Superintendents Association were notified via email about Scott’s need for help. Brian Conn was in his office at a country club a few miles away when he saw the message. Before he even stood up from his desk, he recalls being hit with a sudden, strong, unshakable feeling: He knew he had to respond by offering to be a kidney donor.

After months of appointments and medical evaluations, all unbeknownst to Scott, Brian got the green light.

Surgery was performed a few months later, providing a new chapter for Scott, and a new-found friendship for both he and Brian, as well as their families. They consider themselves brothers.