FAQs

Q. Does MatchingDonors.com offer free or discounted memberships?

A. Yes we do, there are different criteria for free or discounted memberships.? So, please call us at 781-821-2204 to see if you qualify for a free membership.

Q. If I have not purchased a membership yet, am I still able to contact donors?

A. Your information can only be viewed by Potential Donors if you have an active membership.

Q. Can donors contact and be tested for more than one patient at a time?

A. Yes, donors can be testing for more than one patient at a time.

Q. Can donors see the patient’s profiles?

A. Donors can only see active patient profiles that the patient has not made their profile private or confidential.

Q. Can Donors see my Last Name, street address and email address contact information?

Donors can never see these.

Q. Can MatchingDonors.com help me find a transplant center?

A. Yes, we can. There are many great transplant centers out there that we can refer to you.

Q. If I am on MatchingDonors.com as a patient do I need to change my transplant center?

A. No

Q. What if my transplant center does not take living altruistic organ donors from MatchingDonors.com.

A. It is your responsibility to find out before you register on MatchingDonors.com to see if you are a viable candidate for a transplant and that your transplant center will take you donors of any kind.

Q. Can a patient or donor remove their profile?

A. Yes, they can remove their profile at any time.

Q. What happens when a patient or donor removes their profile?

A. All messages that were sent will be removed from the In-Box of the patient or donor that they were sent to.

Q. Why is it that I got an e-mail that stated I had a message in my In-Box, but it was not there when I went to see it?

A. Either the patient or donor retracted the message or removed their profile.

Q. Can MatchingDonors.com retrieve this message?

A. Sorry, no we cannot.

Q. If a donor or patient made their profile unsearchable, or removed their profile, can MatchingDonors.com give me their contact information?

A. Sorry, no we cannot.

Q. Can a patient finance their membership?

A. Yes, a patient can apply for financing of a $595 lifetime membership. You will need to call MatchingDonors.com at 781-821-2204 Ext. 5 or 800-385-0422 ext. 5. A representative would be happy to help you.

Q. Can a patient search for donors, like a donor can search for patients?

A. Patients can only search donors through their search agents.? Patients can only contact donors that contact them; also, patients can contact donors that are in their search agents.

Q. How can I get as many donors as possible?

A. Please follow the instruction on you MatchingDonors.com patient homepage.

Q. Where can I view some news stories about MatchingDonors.com?

A. You can go to http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=matchingdonors and view stories about MatchingDonors.com on CNN, CBS News, ABC Nightline and other television shows, as well as search the Internet for magazine and newspaper articles.

Q. Does MatchingDonors.com guarantee free airfare?

A. No, Free airfare may be arranged for travel within the United States for testing and surgery, but there are blackout periods and restrictions. We suggest you contact MatchingDonors.com at 800-385-0422 ext. #5 as soon as possible to see how we can help you with travel arrangements.

Q. Can I work with donors outside the United States?

A. Patients can only deal with donors in the United States or the United Kingdom. If you deal with donors outside these countries in any way you will be permanently removed from MatchingDonors.com.

Q. Why can I sometimes see donors from other countries?

A. The United Kingdom hospitals will take donors on a case-by-case basis from other countries.

Q. Can I edit my profile after I upload it?

A. Yes, you have the ability to manage, edit, update your profile.

Q. What is a Patient's "Search Agent"?

A. Our search agent will automatically search for new Donors, or Donors that have updated their profile continuously during the day, which meet the keyword criteria you specify. You must sign in to MatchingDonors.com every day to view these profiles. The organ that you are requesting is automatically put in as a search agent when you sign up. You can make up to 10 additional search agents, be aware though that multiple search agents may get you multiple results with the same donor names.

Q. What is a Donor's "Search Agent"?

A. Our search agent will automatically search for new Patients, or Patients that have updated their profile continuously during the day, which meet the keyword criteria you specify. You must sign in to MatchingDonors.com every day to view these profiles. The organ that you are requesting to donate is automatically put in as a search agent when you sign up. You can make up to 10 additional search agents, be aware though that multiple search agents may get you multiple results with the same donor names.

Q. Can I pay or request to be paid for an organ?

A. NO. It is absolutely against the law to have any financial benefit from organ donation. If you are paid, or request to be paid, for any transplant you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Violators of this criminal prohibition can be subject to $50,000 fines and/or five years of imprisonment. Our terms allow us to give all of your personal, contact and tracking information to the FBI without your permission if you violate this prohibition.

Q. Can MatchingDonors.com remove my profile or suspend my profile?

A. Yes, MatchingDonors.com reserves the right to remove or suspend any patient or donor's profile at any time for any reason.

Q. What if my hospital does not accept donors from MatchingDonors.com.

A. Many hospitals do; it may be worth your while to find another hospital if your hospital does not accept us.

Q. Why can I see some of the same potential donors some weeks in my search agents?

A. Because, like the patient search agents, if a donor updates their profile the system will see them as a new or updated profile and will again send them out.

Q. How can I find out what my blood type is?

A. You can contact your doctor, or you can donate blood and they will tell you.

Q. Who is compatible with my blood type?

A. Please read the blood type table below to find who you are compatible with: Kidney donors must have a compatible blood type with the recipient. In living donation, the following blood types are compatible: Donors with blood type A... can donate to recipients with blood types A and AB Donors with blood type B... can donate to recipients with blood types B and AB Donors with blood type AB... can donate to recipients with blood type AB only Donors with blood type O... can donate to recipients with blood types A, B, AB and O (O is the universal donor: donors with O blood are compatible with any other blood type) So, Recipients with blood type O... can receive a kidney from blood type O only Recipients with blood type A... can receive a kidney from blood types A and O Recipients with blood type B... can receive a kidney from blood types B and O Recipients with blood type AB... can receive a kidney from blood types A, B, AB and O (AB is the universal recipient: recipients with AB blood are compatible with any other blood type)

Q. I live in the UK how do I activate my free membership?

A. Call us at 781-821-2204 extension #2 and a representative will be happy to activate your free membership

Q. Can I deal with donors in the United States If I Live in the United Kingdom?

A. Yes all patients from the United Kingdom can connect with donors from the United States over MatchingDonors.com.

Q. Can you try to get a volunteer to help me as a patient?

A. Yes, we can try to, but we do not guarantee that we can find you a volunteer. Here is what you can expect from a volunteer http://www.matchingdonors.com/life/index.cfm?page=p027

Q. If after being registered as a patient MatchingDonors.com for three months and I do not have donors being tested for me can you send an email blast to all donors that have a compatible blood type in the MatchingDonors database?

A. Yes, we will, ONLY under these following conditions will we do that for a patient. There are no exceptions. These steps must be done every day with no exceptions by the patient for three months prior to requesting an email blast from MatchingDonors. If you miss a day the clock starts again. There are no exceptions. All of patient and donor actions on the site are recorded and there is a team that reviews that you have done all of this before we consider sending out the email blast.

After being registered as a patient MatchingDonors.com, and after “using” MatchingDonors.com for at least 5 days a week for three consecutive months, at your written request, we will be able to send a personal email blast from the CEO of MatchingDonors.com to all donors in the MatchingDonors.com database that have a compatible blood type to the patient asking them if they will get tested to donate to the patient, under the following conditions.

By “using” MatchingDonors.com you must be

1. Sign into your MatchingDonors.com account and update your profile.

2.. Contact every new and updated donor in your search agent that has a compatible blood type to you.

3. Save each donor that you contact and keep detailed notes on every donor in the “saved donor section” these will be reviewed by the MatchingDonors.com team before we consider doing an email blast.

3.Send each of these donors a personalized private message through MatchingDonors.com.

4. If the donor has a telephone, number call the donor asking them if they will be tested for you. If you get a voicemail, leave a message and then call back three times a week until the donor talks to you. If there is no voicemail call back three times a week until the donor talks to you.

5. If the donor’s telephone number does not work for any reason, you must send us a notification through the “Press Here To Report This Donor's Profile Because of Abuse” link in the donor’s profile. Then press on the wrong or disconnected phone number button, put in your email address and reason for your complaint and send it to us.

6. Please remember you must take notes in the notes section for every donor you save include all interactions.