This webinar was held live on August 13, 2024.

One of the most frequent questions we hear from people interested in the topic of living kidney donation and transplant is some variation of: "How do I find a living kidney donor?"

It's a really great question - and also a heartfelt one, for some potential transplant recipients.

Pre-emptive kidney transplantation can help individuals avoid kidney failure and dialysis, but many people may feel at a loss when it comes to finding a suitable donor.

Maybe their family is not very large, or there isn't a suitable living donor within the family. Perhaps those close to them who have been tested as potential living kidney donors are not suitable candidates. It could be that their blood type or antibodies make finding a donor match challenging.

In this webinar, Candice Coghlan from the Centre for Living Organ Donation at UHN (Toronto) shared a number of effective tactics for those who feel like they've reached the end of the road in their search for a donor within their immediate circle of friends and family.

This information may be especially helpful for those who know that the next step is to try to launch a public living donor appeal, in the hopes of finding a stranger who is a donor match.

Topics included:

• The benefit of living donor champions
• Ways to get the message out
• Information to collect before you get started
• Writing an appeal
• Deciding where to share
• Things to keep in mind

We also heard from Jennen Johnson, a living kidney donation recipient, who successfully made a public appeal for a kidney donor, and was transplanted with a kidney from a stranger.

Watch video

Additional resources mentioned during the webinar, including links to websites and information.

About the Speakers

Candice Coghlan is the Education & Outreach Coordinator at UHN's Centre for Living Organ Donation where she guides patients, families and potential donors through their transplant journeys, pre, during and post. Candice is also a kidney transplant recipient from her mother in 2009. In 2021, she and her husband welcomed a healthy baby girl. She likes to say her mother gave her life twice, and the ability to create it.

Jennen Johnson is a living donor kidney transplant recipient and the host of the Green Table Talk on the ACB Organ Health YouTube Channel. Jennen’s journey began in 2017 when kidney failure put her on the transplant waitlist. At that time, the wait for a deceased donor kidney was six years. In her condition, she was told she had four years to live. Time wasn't on her side. Her best chance was to find a living kidney donor.

Jennen’s mom suggested she place an ad for a donor in the newspaper, but none of the major newspapers were interested. Defeated, she reached out to NOW Magazine and they agreed to publish her ad. It was shared on Facebook nearly 2,000 times, and landed her an interview on Global TV. Many generous people applied to be her donor, including the incredible Christi Nolan.

Months after she applied and her testing was complete, Jennen received the call that changed her life: Christi was a match! Since her transplant, Jennen has dedicated her spare time to volunteering with the Centre for Living Organ Donation. She continues to share her story in hopes that it will inspire others; after all, she says, “I’ve been blessed with the gift of life and the least I can do is give back!”

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