Paired Exchange

Sometimes, a living donor is not a match for the person they want to help. This can happen if their blood types do not match or if medical testing shows they are incompatible.

In the past, if a donor and recipient were not compatible, they had no other option. The person in need of a kidney would remain on the waiting list for a deceased donor. Today, there is another choice. Even if a donor and recipient are not a match, they may still benefit from living donation through a process called paired donation. In paired donation, two or more incompatible donor-recipient pairs are matched with other pairs in a similar situation. The donors then “exchange” recipients so that each person receives a compatible kidney.

The UC Davis Transplant Center offers paired exchange for all incompatible donor-recipient pairs at our center.