New Record: 84-year-old Living Kidney Donor

I hope everyone knows that no one is too old in principle to be an organ donor when they die. And that’s becoming truer of living donors, too. When I donated my kidney to my son 13 years ago I was 58, which is hardly ancient (actually, it seems downright young to me now!) but seemed “old” at the time. Now, more than a third of donors are over 50. Donors in their 60s are increasingly common, and I’ve known of many people who donated in their 70s. The common wisdom has always been, it’s not the donor’s age that matters but the kidney’s health and the donor’s overall health. So I’m happy to say that the record for oldest living kidney donor was set recently when an 84-year-old man in Texas kindly donated his kidney to his neighbor. Admittedly, it wouldn’t have been a great option for most 30-year-olds, but it was a perfect gift for his grateful 72-year-old recipient with lupus. Read more in this very touching and informative story.