Partnership gives people registering as organ, eye and tissue donors a simple way to explore living kidney donation

GREENWICH, Conn., Nov. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — National Kidney Registry (NKR) and Donate Life America (DLA) are excited to announce the tenth living kidney donation made possible through their partnership in the Donate Life Living Donor Pathway. Ten people have now given a kidney through the pathway, at transplant programs across the country. Each one chose to donate so that someone else could live. Nine of the ten donors gave a kidney to someone they had never met. A gift like this can start a chain of transplants, helping even more people on the national transplant waiting list receive the kidney they need.

The need for living donors has never been greater. More than 110,000 people are on the national transplant waiting list. Living donation has grown only modestly over the past 20 years, while deceased donation has more than doubled.

The Donate Life Living Donor Pathway brings together three strengths: the generosity of Americans who register to be organ, eye and tissue donors at the time of their death, the national reach and ease of the National Donate Life Registry, and the support the NKR provides to living donors. The partnership is projected to add 10,000 living kidney donor registrations in 2026.*

“The immediate results from our partnership with the NKR show that people are eager to help save lives as living donors,” said Madison Walter-Garcia, President and CEO of Donate Life America. “The NKR and DLA teams are thrilled to celebrate this milestone, knowing this number will continue to grow.”

Reaching ten living kidney donations in 11 months shows what is possible when people have clear information, an easy path to living donation, and support through the process. 

“This partnership can help shorten the wait times for some of the 110,000 patients on the deceased donor waiting list and provide them with better outcomes through living donation,” said Garet Hil, founder and CEO of the National Kidney Registry. “The early success of ten living donor transplants proves that innovation and collaboration are key to improving the industry standard.”

About the National Kidney Registry – www.kidneyregistry.com 

The National Kidney Registry is an organization whose mission is to save and improve the lives of people facing kidney failure by increasing the quality, speed, and number of living donor transplants while protecting all living donors. 29% of all living donor kidney transplants performed annually in the United States are facilitated through the National Kidney Registry. 

About Donate Life America – donatelife.net

Donate Life America is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to educate, inspire and activate the public to say yes to registering their decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor. 

DLA owns, manages and promotes Donate Life℠, the national logo and brand for the cause of donation; motivates the public to register as organ, eye and tissue donors; provides education about living donation; manages the National Donate Life Registry at RegisterMe.org and the Donate Life Living Donor Pathway; and develops and executes effective multi-media campaigns to promote donation.

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SOURCE National Kidney Registry