Infographic: Paired Donation Chain By Mayo Clinic Staff Share Facebook Twitter Print details Hide Text Linking many lives through organ donation. Donation chains bring multiple donors and recipients together, making more organs available to more people. Saving a life with every link. A donation chain as part of kidney paired donation finds the best kidney for every patient. Being part of an organ chain through kidney paired donation is a great alternative to receiving a living donor kidney transplant from your directed living donor if the two of you are not a match. Transplant candidates in kidney paired donation can receive a more compatible transplant and also help other candidates receive a transplant. The chain starts with a non-directed living kidney donation to a compatible recipient. Compatibility is determined by factors like age, size, and blood and tissue type. To continue the chain, the initial recipient's intended donor – often a loved one or acquaintance whose kidney was not a good fit – donates to the next person in line who is compatible. Chains can continue as long as matches are found. The donor chain ultimately ends when a recipient receives a new kidney but does not have a donor participating in the chain. The average Mayo Clinic chain leads to 3-7 transplants Every donor gets to help their loved one and every recipient gets a compatible kidney. Produced by Mayo Clinic. Sources: mayoclinic.org; optn.transplant.hrsa.gov. IFG-20469331