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You may withdraw at any point, for any reason, without giving one. If you feel pressured to donate, tell the assessing team privately. Protecting you in that situation is part of their job, and they do it regularly.

Home  /  Treatments  /  Organ transplant  /  Becoming a living donor

Becoming a living donor

Every other page on this site is written for the patient. This one is written for you — the healthy person considering major surgery for someone you love.

You are entitled to information that is about your interests rather than the recipient's, and to a decision that is genuinely yours. That is what this page is for.

Clinically reviewed by Dr. Annie Varughese, Consultant Transplant Surgeon Clinical oversight Dr. Annie Varughese, MD, FACC Last reviewed August 2026 Editorial and medical review policy
Your right
To withdraw
At any time, without explanation
Kidney donation
Generally safe
Most donors return to normal life in weeks
Liver donation
More substantial
Small but real risk of serious complication
Payment
A criminal offence
For everyone involved, including you
On this page
  1. What it is
  2. Symptoms and warning signs
  3. How it is diagnosed
  4. Treatment options
  5. How the choice is made
  6. How urgent is your case
  7. What to send us
  8. Questions patients ask
The condition

What you are being asked to do

A living donor undergoes major surgery from which they receive no medical benefit whatsoever. That is an extraordinary thing to do, and it deserves a decision made with full information and without pressure.

For kidney donation, one kidney is removed, usually through keyhole surgery. The remaining kidney enlarges and takes on additional work, and most donors live entirely normal lives afterwards. It is the more established and the safer of the two donations.

For liver donation, a portion of the liver is removed — a larger share for an adult recipient, a smaller segment for a child. Both the donated part and your remaining liver regenerate substantially over the following weeks. It is a bigger operation than kidney donation, with a longer recovery and higher risk.

Neither is risk-free. Any programme that presents donation as straightforward is not being honest with you, and honesty is precisely what you should demand before agreeing to anything.

Symptoms

Symptoms and warning signs

What the assessment involves

  • Blood and urine tests, and detailed kidney or liver function testing
  • Imaging of the organ, its blood vessels and its anatomy
  • Cardiac and respiratory fitness assessment
  • Screening for infection, including hepatitis, HIV and tuberculosis
  • Blood group and tissue matching against the recipient
  • An independent psychological assessment, conducted privately
  • A separate interview by the Authorisation Committee, without the recipient present

Warning signs of an emergency

  • Feeling pressured by family to donate
  • Being offered money or any material benefit
  • Being told you cannot change your mind
  • Not being assessed separately from the recipient
  • A programme unwilling to discuss donor complication rates
  • Being asked to sign documents you have not read or do not understand

Nobody may pay you, and nobody may pressure you

Commercial dealing in human organs is a criminal offence in India under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, and it applies to the donor as well as the buyer and any intermediary. Beyond the law, payment corrupts consent — a donor who needs the money cannot make a free decision. Equally, family pressure is common and rarely acknowledged. If you are being pushed into this, tell the assessing psychologist or surgeon privately. They will find a medical reason to stand you down so that no blame falls on you. This happens more often than families realise, and it is a proper use of the system.

Diagnosis

How it is diagnosed

You are assessed by a team separate from the recipient's, and your interests come first.

Initial tests

  • Kidney or liver function testing — in detail, to confirm you can spare what is being taken
  • CT or MR angiography — maps the blood vessels and, for liver donors, measures the volume of each part
  • Cardiac and respiratory assessment — fitness for major surgery
  • Infection screening — hepatitis B and C, HIV, tuberculosis and others

The deciding tests

  • Independent psychological assessment — conducted privately, to confirm your decision is free and informed
  • Blood group and crossmatch — establishes compatibility, or whether ABO-incompatible measures are needed
  • Authorisation Committee interview — you are interviewed separately from the recipient, by law
  • Embassy certification of relationship — required for foreign nationals before any approval

Questions you are entitled to ask, and should

How many donor operations does this surgeon perform each year? What is your donor complication rate? What proportion of your donors have needed a second operation? What follow-up will I have, and who pays for it? What happens if I change my mind next week? A programme that answers all five without hesitation is one you can trust. Hesitation on any of them is a reason to look elsewhere.

Options

Treatment options

Two operations, with quite different demands on you.

Kidney donation

What it involves for you

Usually laparoscopic removal of one kidney through small incisions, with a hospital stay of three to five days and return to office work in around three to four weeks. Long-term, most donors have normal kidney function and normal life expectancy, with a small increase in the risk of high blood pressure and of kidney disease later in life. Annual monitoring afterwards is recommended for life.

Usually appropriate whenYou are a near relative, medically suitable, and have decided freely.
Liver donation

What it involves for you

Removal of a portion of the liver through an open operation, with a hospital stay of seven to ten days and recovery over two to three months. Your liver regenerates most of its volume within weeks. The risk of a serious complication is small but real, and the risk of death, while very low, is not zero. This must be stated plainly and any programme unwilling to state it is the wrong one.

Usually appropriate whenYou are a near relative with suitable liver anatomy and volume, and have decided freely.
Your protection

Independent assessment and the right to withdraw

You are assessed by a team that is not responsible for the recipient, including a private psychological assessment. You may withdraw at any point, for any reason, without explaining yourself. A good programme will provide a medical reason for your withdrawal so that your family is told you were unsuitable rather than unwilling.

Usually appropriate whenThroughout the process, up to the moment of surgery.
Afterwards

Follow-up you should insist on

Kidney donors need annual blood pressure, kidney function and urine protein checks for life. Liver donors need liver function monitoring until recovery is complete. Arrange this before you leave India, with a written plan your local doctor can follow, rather than assuming it will happen.

Usually appropriate whenFor life after kidney donation; for at least a year after liver donation.
The decision

How the choice is made

Is your decision genuinely free

This matters more than any test result. If it is not, say so privately — the system exists to protect you.

Are you medically suitable

Kidney function, anatomy, cardiac fitness and absence of infection. Some willing donors are found unsuitable, and that is a protection rather than a failure.

Can you access follow-up at home

Particularly for kidney donors, who need lifelong annual monitoring. Arrange this before you travel home.

If you have any doubt at all, take more time. A recipient can usually wait a few weeks longer. A donation you regret cannot be undone.

Urgency

How urgent is your case

Usually safe to plan travel

  • Considering donation, undergoing assessment
  • Medically well with no chronic conditions
  • Decision made freely and privately confirmed
  • Follow-up arrangements agreed

Needs local assessment before travel

  • Feeling pressured by family
  • Being offered payment or material benefit
  • Undiagnosed high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney problems
  • Not being assessed separately from the recipient
  • A programme that will not discuss donor risks

We will tell you which column you are in

There is no such thing as an urgent donor decision. If you are being hurried, that itself is a reason to slow down.

Next step

What to send us

Photographs taken on your phone are fine. Reports in Arabic, Russian or Bengali are fine — we translate them ourselves.

Most useful

  • Your blood group and general health history
  • Any chronic conditions, particularly diabetes or high blood pressure
  • Your relationship to the recipient
  • Your age and weight

Also helpful

  • Recent blood pressure readings
  • Any kidney or liver test results you have
  • Details of any medication you take regularly
  • Whether you smoke or drink alcohol
Send my reports for review See published cost ranges
Questions

Questions patients ask

Yes, at any point, for any reason, and without explaining yourself. This is not a formality — it is a right that transplant teams take seriously. If you withdraw, a good team will tell your family you were medically unsuitable rather than unwilling, so that no blame follows you. Say so privately to the psychologist or surgeon if you need that protection.

Kidney donation is generally safe — most donors are back to normal life within weeks, with normal long-term kidney function and life expectancy, though with a small increase in the risk of high blood pressure and later kidney disease. Liver donation is more substantial, with a small but genuine risk of serious complication and a very low but non-zero risk of death. Any programme unwilling to give you these figures is the wrong programme.

Kidney donation does not prevent pregnancy, though donors have a modestly increased risk of pregnancy-related high blood pressure and should be monitored more closely during pregnancy. Liver donation does not affect fertility. Discuss your plans with the assessment team — it is a reasonable and common question.

No. Commercial dealing in human organs is a criminal offence in India, and the law applies to the donor as much as to the buyer and any intermediary. Beyond legality, payment makes free consent impossible. Reasonable reimbursement of travel and lost earnings is a different matter and is permitted in some systems, but it must be transparent and approved.

Kidney donors should have annual checks of blood pressure, kidney function and urine protein for life. Liver donors need liver function monitoring until recovery is complete, usually within a year. Arrange this before you leave India, with a written plan for your local doctor. Donors are frequently discharged without it, and that is a failure of care.

That is a protection rather than a rejection. Donors are turned down for high blood pressure, reduced kidney function, unsuitable anatomy, infection or fitness concerns, and the purpose is to prevent harm to you. A good team will explain the reason and, where appropriate, refer you for treatment of whatever was found — which occasionally benefits the would-be donor considerably.

Related pages: Organ transplant in India  ·  Transplant law in India  ·  End-stage kidney disease  ·  Liver cirrhosis  ·  Transplant cost in India

Contact

Send us your reports

If you are the donor rather than the patient, say so in your first message. We will make sure you are assessed independently and that your questions are answered separately.

Your reports go directly to our medical team. We do not share your records with hospitals until you tell us to.

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