When attempting to transfer kekkei genkai to others, dōjutsu are the easiest to work with; the recipient merely needs to be implanted with it. If the recipient does not have a genetic predisposition for the dōjutsu, using it will demand far more chakra than is required for natural users.

For nature transformation kekkei genkai, only Hashirama Senju's Wood Release has been shown trying to be recreated in others: Orochimaru attempted to reproduce Wood Release by modifying tests subjects' DNA, succeeding only with Yamato; Kabuto Yakushi perfected grafts of Hashirama that could be implanted in others, granting them Wood Release; Madara Uchiha developed a substance that, when used for artificial limbs, allows limited Wood Release usage.

For bodily kekkei genkai, transferring or reproducing them appears to be prohibitively difficult: to acquire Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku, Orochimaru planned to simply take over Kimimaro's body, a plan he had to abandon when Kimimaro's body was discovered to be dying.

If an individual cannot gain access to a kekkei genkai directly, they can try instead to use it through the kekkei genkai's original user. Sasori could access the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release via a human puppet made from the Kazekage's body.