In 2011, 96 people age 65 and older served as living kidney donors in the United States; altogether, 1,382 older adults have done so since 1988, according to data from the United Network for Organ Sharing, which manages the nation’s transplant system.n some parts of the country, it can take six to eight years for someone to rise to the top of transplant lists, according to transplant surgeons. The harsh reality is that more than half of kidney transplant candidates over the age of 60 will die before receiving an organ from a deceased donor, researchers estimate.