Comprehensive, compulsory assessments
The main objective of these medical assessments is to protect the donor by keeping the risks to an absolute minimum, while protecting the recipient from medical conditions that could be transmitted during the transplant. The assessment therefore helps ensure that the donor is healthy and that the risks in the short, medium and long terms are as low as possible.
The medical assessments serve to determine the donor’s level of kidney and heart function and to detect the presence of heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, cancer or a communicable disease.
Whereas all potential donors undergo the same basic assessment, certain health conditions in the donor could justify a need for additional examinations. It is also possible for the results of an initial examination to signal the need for a subsequent exam. The donor is always notified of any medical condition identified during the assessment and the proper medical follow-up is provided. In general, the examinations are spread out over a year, but this period can be shorter depending on the people involved.