Donor facts and figures
How successful are live kidney donations?
About 9 out of 10 live kidney transplants are working well 1 year after the operation. About half of live kidney transplants will still be working well after 15 years.
Most donors do not have any change in their health after donating a kidney.
How safe is it to donate a kidney?
About 3 in 1000 donors will go on to develop end-stage kidney disease. This is considered to be low risk.
For comparison, about 1 in 20 New Zealanders will develop bowel cancer at some point in their lives, and about 1 in 10 New Zealand women will develop breast cancer. These are considered to be high risks.
If you are a healthy person who has not donated a kidney, your risk of developing end-stage kidney disease is about 2 in 1000.