Altruistic kidney donation in spotlight as Jesse Eisenberg helps stranger

Hollywood star Jesse Eisenberg is donating a kidney to a stranger.

The actor and director, who is also a blood donor, revealed that he is giving a kidney to a stranger in mid-December.

This is sometimes referred to as altruistic kidney donation from a living donor.

Last year in the UK, there were 964 kidney transplants from living donors, most of which were “directed” donations to a family member, friend or someone known to them.

In 2024/25, 60 people donated a kidney to a stranger in the UK, according to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) data.

And 125 kidney transplants were made possible through the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme, a kidney “exchange” scheme.

The scheme was set up to accommodate people who wish to donate a kidney to a loved one but are not a suitable match.

It means people can be matched to a donor/recipient pair in the same situation and for the donor kidneys to be exchanged or swapped.

So called donor “chains” can also be arranged, making sure more people get the kidneys they need.

Altruistic donors are “game-changers” in this scheme, NHS Blood and Transplant said.

At present there are 6,650 people on the waiting list for a kidney transplant in the UK.

Lisa Burnapp, NHS Blood and Transplant’s associate medical director for living donation, said: “Living donation is highly successful in the UK, with one in three patients receiving a kidney transplant from a living donor.

“In the UK, the most effective and successful scheme we have is the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme – which has enabled people with a willing but incompatible donor to find a compatible kidney from another donor and is now one of the most successful schemes in Europe.

“Non-directed altruistic donors are the game-changers in the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme – through donor chains, up to three people can benefit from a single donation, including those who do not have a living donor of their own, because it can trigger a chain of transplants.

“Many patients on the kidney waiting list are not part of the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme but also rely on altruistic kidney donors to give them the best chance at a transplant.

“The more people who are willing to consider donating in this way, the more kidneys there are available to help everyone waiting for a transplant.”