How long is the wait for a kidney in the UK?
Key points
- The average wait for a deceased donor kidney transplant (DDTx) in the UK is 16 months
- There are many factors that can influence how long you might wait for a kidney transplant from a deceased donor
- If you have a living donor, it usually takes just 3-6 months to have the required tests on you and your donor and arrange the transplant.
Receiving a kidney from a deceased donor
The average wait for a deceased donor kidney transplant in the UK is 16 months. In the latest (2023) analysis the median average was 497 days.
Some patients wait much longer than average, some wait a shorter time. To receive a kidney from a deceased donor, you will need to go on the transplant waiting list.
It is not really a waiting list (first in, first out). You wait until the ‘right’ (best match for you) kidney becomes available.
The waiting time varies significantly throughout the UK (the lowest is 235 days in Oxford, and highest is 707 days at Royal Free).
Receiving a kidney from a living donor
If you’ve found a potential living donor, the average wait for a kidney transplant from them is usually 3-6 months if everything goes smoothly.
This is a much faster process than receiving a kidney from a deceased donor. During these 3-6 months (on average), you and your living donor will have lots of tests. These are to make sure you are fit enough for a transplant, and your donor is fit enough to donate a kidney.
It can then be done as soon as an operating slot is available.
Number of kidney transplants per year in UK
There are about 3000 kidney transplants done in the UK per year.
But the demand for donor organs far exceeds supply, with 5250 patients waiting. Hence some are never transplanted.
Other resources
The latest UK renal registry report (2023) and NHS Blood and Transplant kidney report (2023) are excellent sources of information.
How the UK’s DDTx offering system works (waiting list; NHS Blood and Transplant)
Last Reviewed on 9 September 2024