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Living kidney donation in

Oregon

What transplant centers in Oregon publish about their living donor programs, and what the state protects for someone who donates here.

Verified centers in Oregon

  • Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital and Medical Center

    Portland, OR

    NLDAC financial assistance · not yet verifiedPaired exchange

    Legacy Health's kidney-donor page says candidates whose kidney does not suit their intended recipient can pursue paired exchange, and describes the center as a Donor Care Network Center of Excellence with the National Kidney Registry.

  • Oregon Health and Science University

    Portland, OR

    NLDAC financial assistancePaired exchange · not yet verified

    OHSU's living-kidney-donation page describes an independent donor advocate guiding donors through application, screening, evaluation and surgery, and lists paired exchange as one of three donation types alongside directed and non-directed donation.

  • VA Portland Health Care System

    Portland, OR

    NLDAC financial assistance · not yet verifiedPaired exchange · not yet verified

    VA Portland's transplant program page says it assists living kidney donors from evaluation to donation, alongside its liver transplant and hepatopancreatobiliary surgery services.

Living donors in Oregon: grade B

Oregon has 4 of the seven protections tracked, which is around the national middle. Check which ones cover your situation before you plan around them.

What the American Kidney Fund tracks, in every state

  • Insurance companies cannot deny you life, disability or long-term care cover, or charge you more, because you donated
  • Job-protected leave if you work for the state
  • Job-protected leave if you work for a private employer
  • Paid leave for living donors
  • A tax credit or deduction for your donation costs
  • Direct reimbursement of donation expenses
  • A tax credit for employers who give donors paid leave

This is the full list AKF scores every state against — not a claim about which of these Oregon has. The fact sheet below has that detail, and it is more current than anything cached here.

The American Kidney Fund's Oregon fact sheet

Federal family leave can already cover donation. A law written for living donors has not passed yet.

The Department of Labor's position, set out in a formal opinion letter, is that donation surgery and the recovery after it count as a serious health condition under the Family and Medical Leave Act whenever they involve an overnight hospital stay, as donation surgery commonly does. So if you are eligible under that Act, you can take leave to donate and recover, come back to the same or an equivalent job, and keep your group health cover while you are away. The leave itself is unpaid, though paid leave your employer offers can run alongside it. Eligibility depends on the size of your employer and your workplace, and on how long and how many hours you have worked there — the Department of Labor's fact sheet sets out the exact tests, and your employer's HR team can confirm them for you.

The Living Donor Protection Act would write that leave protection into the law itself, and would stop life, disability and long-term care insurers from refusing cover or charging more because you donated. It has not passed. The Senate version has cleared its committee and is awaiting a floor vote; the House version has not moved since it was introduced. Paid leave, and protection for anyone the family-leave law does not reach, depends on what your state has done.

U.S. Department of Labor, opinion letter FMLA2018-2-A; U.S. Department of Labor, FMLA eligibility fact sheet; Congress.gov, S. 1552 / H.R. 4583, checked 24 September 2026

What it costs, and what covers it

The recipient's insurance covers a donor's evaluation, surgery and follow-up. Programs like NLDAC reimburse travel, lodging, dependent care and lost wages for donors who need it — the donor guide walks through both, with sources.

Talk to someone who has donated

Mentors are volunteers with no stake in your decision either way.

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People in Oregon looking for a donor

Public campaigns from people whose page lists Oregon.

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My Kidney Story does not collect, store, or evaluate medical information, and nothing on this page is medical advice. Donor eligibility is determined solely by a transplant center after its own independent evaluation.

My Kidney Story is independent and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any center listed here, SRTR, OPTN or NLDAC.