Donor organs save lives
Donating a kidney or part of your liver while you are alive is known as a living donation. After the procedure, you will need time to recover, but are able to resume your normal live afterwards. Would you like to find out whether you can donate a kidney or part of your liver? Read about it here.
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Donating a kidney or part of your liver while you are alive is known as a living donation. After the procedure, you will need time to recover, but are able to resume your normal live afterwards. Would you like to find out whether you can donate a kidney or part of your liver? Read about it here.
What does donating a kidney or part of your liver involve?
In 2025, the lives of 497 patients were saved thanks to living kidney donation. And to make sure a patient’s body does not reject a donor organ, it is important that the patient and donor match. The better the match, the lower the likelihood that the patient will need high doses of medication long term. Unlike stem cell transplantation, organ donation does not require a 100% match, but compatibility still plays a crucial role.
To give a patient the best possible chance of success with a new kidney or partial liver transplant, doctors first search for the most suitable match, often within the family.
Unfortunately, a suitable kidney is not available for everyone, and some patients wait years for a donor liver. When you donate part of your liver, it grows back over time. As with kidney donation, careful matching is essential to improve acceptance of the organ. For this reason, doctors also begin by looking within the family for a suitable donor.
Liver transplantation is often more urgent than kidney transplantation, as there may be no alternative treatment available. That is why more donors like us are urgently needed. For some patients, a suitable donor truly means the difference between life and death.
Ambar is waiting for a donor kidney: Read her story.
Shaties Mohan received a kidney from his sister: Read their story.
Annemieke gave a piece of her liver to her child. Read their story.
Ambar waits for a donor kidney. Watch her video.
Frequently asked questions
According to most religious traditions, it is permitted to donate a kidney or part of your liver during your lifetime in order to save someone’s life. The conditions are similar to the medical requirements: the donation must not cause you harm and you must be in good health.
If you have doubts about donating, consider speaking with a pastor, religious leader, or theologian.
If you are healthy and have healthy organs, you can become a donor.
Please note: you can only donate if you are over 18, donate voluntarily and are in good health and not pregnant. Read more here.
If someone close to you needs a kidney or part of a liver, you can let them know that you are willing to donate. The treating doctors will then assess whether you are medically compatible with the recipient. This concerns living donation, not organ donation after death.
For organ donation after death, every person in the Netherlands from age 18 is registered in the Donor Register. There you indicate whether you do or do not want to be an organ and tissue donor after your death.
A family member or friend who is seriously ill may ask whether you are willing to help by donating a kidney or part of your liver. If you decide to be a donor, the hospital will carry out medical assessments to determine whether you are suitable. This means evaluating your overall health and whether you are medically compatible with the recipient.
Your family member or friend who is ill asks whether you want to help by donating a kidney or a piece of your liver. If you want to be a donor, the hospital will investigate whether you are suitable, meaning whether you are healthy and whether your organ fits the recipient. If the results are positive and you choose to continue, the necessary appointments and surgery dates will be scheduled.
Watch this video to learn more: Living-donor kidney transplantation, how does that work?
No. If you wish to donate while you are alive, you can donate a kidney or part of your liver.
After death, you may also donate other organs. Your preferences for posthumous organ and tissue donation are recorded in the Donor Register, where you can specify which organs and tissues you do or do not wish to donate. If you would like to check your current registration, you can do so using your DigiD at: www.donorregister.nl
If you have not recorded a choice, you are automatically registered as a donor under Dutch law.
No. You do not receive payment for donating a kidney or part of your liver. However, you are reimbursed for reasonable expenses related to the donation, including:
Travel and parking costs for hospital visits
Temporary household support during your recovery
Travel and accommodation costs if you live outside the Netherlands and the patient lives in the Netherlands
Physiotherapy or home care costs not covered by your health insurance
Childcare or care for dependents or pets
Loss of income due to time off work
Your health insurance covers everything. You do not pay a deductible (Eigen Risico).
You donate to someone who is ill and in need of an organ. This may be someone close to you who asks for your help. It is also possible to donate anonymously. Although it is less common to donate a kidney to a stranger, this is possible if you choose to do so. You can donate if you are healthy and your organ is suitable for a recipient. Read more here.
For more questions you can call the Donor Info Line: 0900-821 2166
on weekdays between 08:30 and 19:00, at no extra cost.
Or send an e-mail to vragen@orgaandonatie.nl