DONNA RYAN: Many people who donate a kidney are related to the recipient. However, you can also donate a kidney on your own as well. Regardless of the reason, there are a number of criteria you first must meet in order to be a donor and undertake this type of surgery.

In the case where you donate a kidney to a family member, the decision can be easy. When a donee has lost most of his kidney function or is determined to have End Stage Renal Disease or ESRD, options either include dialysis or a kidney transplant. At this point, if you wish to be a donor, you will probably be asking yourself if you qualify. In most circumstances, donors are related to the patient.

To qualify, a donor candidate should be in good health and fall between the ages of 18 and 70 years old. Generally, if a potential donor has cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, sickle cell anemia, hepatitis or of course kidney disease, he will probably not meet the requirements to become a donor.