Just a heads-up, many people aren’t eligible to become kidney donors. Here are some common disqualifiers (at least in the US):
smoking
use of illegal drugs (including marijuana) within the past year or so
regular use of medicines that may cause kidney damage (this includes common drugs like ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen)
certain chronic health conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure
Criteria vary by transplant center, so if you’re interested it’s probably worth checking even if you match one of the things I listed. But don’t get your hopes up too high.
Just a heads-up, many people aren’t eligible to become kidney donors. Here are some common disqualifiers (at least in the US):
smoking
use of illegal drugs (including marijuana) within the past year or so
regular use of medicines that may cause kidney damage (this includes common drugs like ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen)
certain chronic health conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure
Criteria vary by transplant center, so if you’re interested it’s probably worth checking even if you match one of the things I listed. But don’t get your hopes up too high.
Here are some of the criteria for one US transplant center.