There are practical criteria for who can join the Register - or who must be excluded.
These are in two parts, general and medical.
General
- age 18 - 40 : health and circumstances permitting, you remain on the Register until your 60th birthday, so don't be put off joining if you are close to 40
- in general very good health
- weight over 51kg / 8st
- meet height to weight ratio
Medical
For a variety of reasons which can relate to the outcome of a transplant, or to your own welfare as a donor, certain conditions prevent you from joining the Register.
The application we ask you to complete before giving a saliva sample covers all of the following medical conditions.
Many of the conditions allow us some flexibility : where interpretation is possible, this has been indicated below by the word Exception.
It can be hard to accept, particularly if you have been moved by the plight a patient, that you are unable to join the Register.
We are very sorry, but please be aware that these restrictions are matters of policy, and are for your and the patient's benefit.
Pregnant women can join register on the understanding that they will not be allowed to donate until their child is at least a year old. We would like to hear your suggestions, comments and queries about our website. Help us find out how our website is working for you.
Click here to fill in our online questionnaire. It should take you no more that 3 minutes.
