In general, yes. If available, a living donation is often the best option for the recipient. Since the entire medical history of the donor is understood, we know to the best of our ability that the donated organ is of high quality. Also, with surgeries happening simultaneously, organs spend very little time outside the body before being transplanted, so they begin working faster in their recipient for better outcomes.For patients in need of a kidney, living donation is the fastest option to transplant, as candidates can wait years until a matching deceased donor kidney becomes available. Living kidney donation surgery can be scheduled when the recipient is at their healthiest, often within months, and can potentially avoid dialysis. Finally, kidneys from living donors last nearly twice as long as kidneys transplanted from deceased donors. At Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, we have patients celebrating more than 40 years with their living donor kidney.Living liver donation is also the better and recommended option for recipients, but not always the fastest. Unlike patients with end-stage kidney disease, who can go on dialysis until a kidney becomes available, liver patients don’t have this option. Depending on disease progression, liver patients could need a new liver within days to weeks. If liver disease is caught early enough for a living donor to be identified, the primary advantage is to enable scheduling of surgery before the recipient becomes too sick.