How Can the NKR Help Me Find a Living Donor?
Finding a living kidney donor can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone. The National Kidney Registry (NKR) offers a range of tools, resources, and support systems designed to help you share your story, reach more people, and run a successful donor search campaign.
Personal Microsites: A Tool for Sharing Your Story
One of the most powerful tools the NKR offers is the Microsite Program, which provides you with a free, personalized website dedicated to your donor search.
Your microsite allows you to:
- Share your story in your own words
- Explain why you need a kidney transplant
- Provide clear information for potential donors
- Offer an easy way for people to register and learn more
Instead of explaining your situation over and over, you can share your microsite URL via email, text, and social media to reach as many potential donors as possible.
Donor Search Coaches: Guidance and Support
If you’re part of the Microsite Program, you also have the option to work with a donor search coach who has successfully helped find a living donor for themselves or a loved one.
They can support you by:
- Helping you tell your story
- Answering questions about the donor search and transplant process
- Offering donor search strategies
- Sharing information on available programs and resources
- Inviting you to a monthly webinar to answer questions and provide education
- Providing support in English or Spanish
They can also walk you through how to post and promote your microsite on social media, and even meet with you, your family, or your support network over a phone or video call to explain the process.
Printed Materials: Business Cards, Posters, and Brochures
In addition to digital tools, the NKR provides free physical materials to help you spread the word in your community.
These include:
- 250 free business cards with your microsite URL
- Posters you can display in local businesses, workplaces, gyms, or community centers (you get 10 posters with your starter site and 25 custom posters with your custom microsite)
- Brochures that explain living donation and the support and protections available to living donors
Donor Shield: Financial Assistance and Protections for Donors
Donor Shield provides comprehensive financial assistance, protection, and support for people who donate a kidney through the NKR. While it doesn’t directly help you find a donor, it reduces common financial and logistical concerns, which can make someone more willing to move forward with donation.
For example, if a potential donor is worried about taking time off work, Donor Shield offers up to $12,000 in lost wage reimbursement. It also provides up to $6,000 in reimbursement for donation-related travel, dependent care, and pet care.
If someone wants to donate to you but lives far away, Donor Shield offers remote donation, which lets donors complete testing and donation surgery at a transplant center near them. Donor Shield also offers kidney prioritization if a donor ever needs a transplant in the future, and protection in the rare event of donation-related complications.
What the NKR Can and Can’t Do
The NKR can offer a wide range of support and resources, but there are some limitations. Here’s what the NKR can and can’t do to support your donor search.
- The NKR can share photos of your donor search events and unique strategies to reach donors in our Find A Kidney photo gallery.
- The NKR can’t share your personal story or donor search campaign on its social media channels or website.
- The NKR can assign you a free donor search coach through the Microsite Program to help you in your search.
- The NKR can’t sponsor, support, or promote individual donor search campaigns.
- The NKR can offer a donor screening process that allows potential donors to register and be evaluated as a donor.
- The NKR can’t share any information about potential donors, including who has registered or where they are in the process.
- The NKR can, through its donor search coaches, provide a wealth of information on the living donation and transplant processes.
- The NKR can’t provide medical advice or discuss the specifics of your case. Those conversations should always happen with your transplant team.
