Living Kidney Donors: Current State of Affairs

Abstract

Living kidney donation continues as the cornerstone of transplantation. In order to determine with ever-renewing assurance that living donation is safe for the donor, we need to periodically review the literature, review the United Network for Organ Sharing database for donor characteristics that may put them in danger, and scour databases for donors starting dialysis and/or listed for transplant. Additionally, we must encourage financing studies that follow large diverse cohorts of donors over their entire lifetimes in order to detect key characteristics that influence outcomes. Currently, it can be stated that living donation is, on the whole, safe, with few perioperative deaths, complications, or long-term medical issues. Additionally, the living donor reflects the demographics of the general population including increased rates of obesity with some donors having hypertension and low-grade proteinuria. In the long run, death rates (for the white donor) are no different than for the general population, whereas end-stage renal disease rates are slightly increased over the general population, ranging from 0.1% to 1.1%. The higher risk is especially notable in the black donor. Preeclampsia in female donors may also be marginally greater than in those with 2 kidneys. Thus, the new health age brings a rejuvenated responsibility of the medical community and those in governance to design systems that allow more complete and continued follow-up of the living kidney donor, especially those of color. © 2009 National Kidney Foundation, Inc.