Two altruistic donors, Harry Damon and Nicole Lanstrum, recently initiated two kidney transplant chains at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Their acts of generosity and kindness allowed at least six kidney patients to receive kidney transplants. These two chains have also helped ignite interest in kidney transplant chains at other transplant centers.

A donor chain creates opportunities for endless donor-recipient pairings. It starts with an altruistic donor - someone who wants to donate a kidney out of the goodness of his or her heart. That kidney is transplanted into a recipient who had a donor willing to give a kidney but whose kidney was not a match. To keep the chain going, the incompatible donor gives a kidney to another patient, unknown to him or her, who has been identified as a match. A specialized computer program matches donors and recipients across the country.
 
With more than 80,000 people waiting for a kidney in the United States, paired donations are a new and inventive way for more transplants to take place.

This article originally appeared in the July 2009 issue of Kidney Transplant Today.