Hollywood actor and director Jesse Eisenberg is preparing to donate a kidney to a stranger in mid-December, undertaking a selfless act known as altruistic living donation.
This form of donation, where a living individual gives an organ to someone they do not know, is a vital contribution to the UK's transplant programme.
Last year, 964 kidney transplants were performed using living donors, though most were "directed" to family or friends.
In 2024/25, 60 individuals in the UK chose to donate a kidney to a stranger, according to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) data, with a further 125 kidney transplants made possible through the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme.
Such altruistic donations are deemed "game-changers" by NHSBT, particularly within the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme.
This innovative programme facilitates kidney "exchanges" for incompatible donor/recipient pairs, allowing them to be matched with others in similar situations. It also enables "donor chains," ensuring more patients receive the kidneys they desperately need.
The impact of these donations is significant, especially given that 6,650 people are currently awaiting a kidney transplant in the UK. Lisa Burnapp, NHS Blood and Transplant’s associate medical director for living donation, highlighted the success of the system.
"Living donation is highly successful in the UK, with one in three patients receiving a kidney transplant from a living donor," she stated.
Burnapp further explained the scheme's importance: "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."
#OrganDonationWeek is a week to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation and highlight the need for more donors.
— NHS Blood+Transplant (@NHSBT) September 24, 2025
Confirming your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register takes 2 minutes, and you could save up to 9 lives.#OrganDonation #ODW25 pic.twitter.com/JMXZs385XU
She emphasised the pivotal role of non-directed altruistic donors: "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."
She concluded by noting that "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."
