Logo for: National Kidney Registry

Improving Living Kidney Donation & Transplantation

The National Kidney Registry is dedicated to increasing living kidney donation, ensuring better donor-recipient matches, and providing comprehensive support and protections for living donors.

10,000 NKR-Facilitated Transplants

Kidney Donor Blog

Information for Donors

An Unexpected Gift: How Donating a Kidney Can Also Help Protect Your Health

Kari Rancourt, NKR Medical Board, Lead Kidney Paired Exchange Coordinator, Hartford Hospital

When you apply to become a living kidney donor, you are stepping forward to change—and even save—someone’s life. But along the way, you may also gain something personally valuable: a comprehensive, no-cost evaluation of your health.

Continue Reading

Kidney Donor Stories

My Kidney Donation Story: EJ Tamez

EJ Tamez

Back in 2016, I learned that my brother’s health was deteriorating. I asked my mother about it, and she told me that he was in kidney failure and was already doing dialysis. I immediately went to see him and found him stuck in a chair, barely able to walk. He was only 42 years old back then, with a young family, and seeing him like that really broke my heart.

Continue Reading

Why Choose an NKR Center

NKR Member Centers agree to an extensive list of guidelines and commitments to provide the highest level of care, protection, and support to living donors and transplant recipients. As of 2025, there are 103 NKR Member Centers spanning 35 states and the District of Columbia.

Member Centers
NKR center locations across the USA.