What Are The Risks Of Giving A Kidney

Effect On Your Future Health

If you donate a kidney, hospital staff must tell you about how living kidney donation relates to ongoing or chronic kidney disease and kidney failure. Your Independent Living Donor Advocate as well as the living donor nephrologist should help you understand these terms.

If you are thinking about donating a kidney, you should know that:

• On average, you will permanently lose 25-35% of your kidney function after donating.
• Your risk of having kidney failure later in your life is not any higher that it is for someone in the general population of a similar age, sex or race. However, you are more likely to have kidney failure than healthy people who are not donors.
• Chronic kidney disease most often starts in the middle of your life . Kidney failure most often starts after age 60. If you get tested when you are young, doctors cannot predict how likely you are to have chronic kidney disease or kidney failure later in life.
• If you damage your other kidney , you may have a higher chance of having chronic kidney disease, which could go on to become kidney failure.
• You will need medical treatment if you start to have kidney failure.

Current policy gives living donors priority on the national waiting list if they need to get a kidney transplant in the future. You can ask your Independent Living Donor Advocate or /Living Donor Coordinators about this policy.

For The Living Donor:

• Positive emotional experiences: The gift of an organ can save the life of a transplant candidate. The experience of providing this special gift to a person in need can serve be a positive aspect of donation.
• More time with your loved one: Donating an organ can increase the time you have to spend with your loved one as well as the quality of that time.

Who Can Donate A Kidney

Almost any adult in good health can donate a kidney. In many cases, you can donate a kidney to someone of a different race, sex or blood type, thanks to recent advances in donor matching.

At Memorial Transplant Institute, our thorough donor evaluation process makes sure a donor is in sufficient physical and mental shape to safely undergo donor surgery.

Read Also: Is Wine Good For Kidney Stones

Research Is Revealing More About Sars

While kidney damage in COVID-19 is still not well understood, more data will reveal how this occurs. Sperati, who also conducts research on kidney disease, says the Johns Hopkins Division of Nephrology is exploring exactly how SARS-CoV-2 and the bodys response to it is affecting kidney health.

He says that patients with COVID-19-related kidney damage should follow up with their doctors to ensure kidney function is returning to normal. Lasting kidney damage might require dialysis or other therapies even after recovery from COVID-19.

Mostly, Sperati stresses the importance of adhering to guidelines around physical distancing and hand-washing, the basics of prevention. For everyone, especially people with underlying chronic disease, avoiding infection with COVID-19 for as long as you can is crucial, he says.

Right now, we dont have a treatment or vaccine for this disease. The longer a person can go without getting infected, the better chance they have of benefiting from a future therapy.

Coronavirus

Kidney Donation After Death

You can register your decision to donate your organs after death through the Australian Organ Donor Register. Kidney transplants have a high success rate and by donating after death, you will be giving someone the potential to have a longer and more active life than they would have had on dialysis treatment.A transplant from a deceased donor can be used for medically suitable people who have been stabilised on dialysis.You must be declared dead before your organs and body tissues can be used. The two legal definitions of death in Australia are:

• brain death when a person’s brain permanently stops functioning
• circulatory death when a person’s heart permanently stops functioning in their body.

The type of death and the health of the organs and tissues of the potential donor dictate how the organ and tissue donation process will occur, and which organs and tissues can be donated.

Don’t Miss: Is Pomegranate Juice Good For Your Kidneys

Uncertainty And Sensitivity Analyses

We assumed that many future risks that can impact on life expectancy and ESRD such as cancer, obesity, smoking and so on were not influenced by the act of kidney donation. The lifetime estimates of ESRD were found to be higher in non-donors than published estimates, in part since this model incorporated the possibility that some participants could develop diabetes mellitus and proteinuria. In a sensitivity analysis a lower risk ideal cohort was examined. These ideal non-donors were assigned lower incidence rates of diabetes mellitus, proteinuria and rates of transition to CKD to match projected lifetime ESRD risks rather than calibrating to 15-year ESRD risks. Non-donors were assumed to have lifetime cumulative ESRD risks of 0.43% , 0.29% , 1.00% and 0.85% for white male, white female, black male and black female, respectively. To evaluate a more conservative and more liberal estimate of remaining life years, lost life years postdonation, remaining QALYs and lost QALYS postdonation, we used higher and lower transition rates from normal to CKD states that correspond to the upper and lower bound of the 95% CI of the projected cumulative risk of ESRD from a study by Grams et al.

Can Kidneys Recover After Covid

As of yet, Sperati says, its uncertain how many people with COVID-19-related kidney damage regain their kidney function.

He says, Patients with acute kidney injury due to COVID-19 who do not require dialysis will have better outcomes than those who need dialysis, and we have seen patients at Johns Hopkins who recover kidney function. We have even had patients in the ICU with acute kidney injury who have required dialysis, and subsequently regained their kidney function. How often that occurs is still not known, but without question, the need for dialysis is a worrisome development in patients with COVID-19.

Read Also: Bleeding Kidney Symptoms

Psychosocial Socioeconomic And Emotional Risks

Considering living donation can be scary and challenging for the potential donor.

On one hand, the potential donor may be worried about their potential recipient or may feel guilty about the health problems that person is experiencing. On the other hand, the potential donor will likely feel stress and concern related to the possibility of donating their organ, which requires them to undergo surgery themselves.

The good news is that most potential donors have similar questions and concerns. Dedicated donor teams including transplant coordinators, physicians, social workers, and psychiatrists are well-versed in helping potential donors answer these questions for themselves and cope with any issues that arise.

Some concerns expressed by many potential donors include:

• Who will take care of me/my children after I donate?
• Am I responsible for uncovered expenses such as travel expenses, childcare, elder care, etc.?
• What do I do if I feel coerced into donating?
• Will my employer allow me to take the needed time off and/or will my job be stable while I am gone?
• How will I feel if my recipient does not do as well as expected after the transplant or if they do not comply with their post-transplant regimen?
• How will I feel if my recipient is not “grateful enough” for what I went through to donate my kidney?
• How will I feel if the transplanted organ fails?

Living kidney donors may be at risk for experiencing the following:

What Are The Benefits Of Kidney Donation For Donors

Though taking out an organ hardly seems like it would improve a persons quality of life, thats exactly what happens for so many donors.

First, they get to share a special bond with someone forever that can never be matched. Second, they are thoroughly educated on health and wellness before and after donation often learning things they never knew. People often give up unhealthy habits in order to donate, such as smoking, excessive drinking, or eating an unhealthy diet. Ive had donors lose as much as 30 pounds in order to donate. Later, they told me they never thought they could lose that much weight and that they were motivated to keep it up.

Third, they get the chance to advocate for others. In 2017, we had our first altruistic kidney donor at UT Southwestern she didnt have a specific donor in mind and wanted to give of herself to help someone else. This person contacted us because she said shed done her research and was impressed by the expertise of our doctors and the level of care we provide potential donors. Though she didnt have a loved one or friend in need of a kidney, she very much wanted to donate one to help a stranger in need.

We put her through the regular application process, and she passed with flying colors. To date, shes eight months post-op and back at her normal routine while serving as a wonderful advocate for living kidney donation.

Interested in becoming a kidney donor? Request an appointment with our transplant team for more information.

Don’t Miss: Renal Diet Orange Juice

Analysis Design And Outcomes

All analyses compared outcomes of the same population of healthy potential donors and modelled the effects if all donated. Primary outcomes were the net difference in remaining life years, QALYs and development of ESRD. In addition we examined the loss of life attributed to ESRD by eliminating the ESRD health state in both donors and non-donors and assumed all remained in CKD until death. In the base case analysis, age, sex and black/white race annual transition rates for proteinuria, diabetes mellitus and hypertension were empirically derived from population studies assuming that donors were initially disease-free but could subsequently develop these conditions at rates seen in the general population. Transition rates from normal to CKD stage 3 and higher were derived from a previous study. The cycle length was 1year. These rates were multiplied by an empirically derived coefficient that was lower in non-donors and higher in donors to reproduce the 15-year cumulative risk of ESRD in average-age non-donors and donors. Non-donors were assumed to have 15-year cumulative ESRD risks of 0.067%, 0.045%, 0.21% and 0.12% for white male, white female, black male and black female, respectively. Donors were assumed to have 15-year cumulative ESRD risks of 0.34%, 0.15%, 0.96% and 0.59% for white male, white female, black male and black female, respectively.

Who Can Be A Living Kidney Donor

You must be at least 18 years old to donate a kidney. Youll undergo an extensive evaluation which includes a physical and mental health evaluation, several blood tests and imaging procedures. Youll meet a group of healthcare providers which in some cases may include a physician, social worker, independent living donor advocate and a bioethics professional. The evaluation ensures youre physically and mentally able to donate a kidney.

Tests may include:

• Cancer screening tests, such as colonoscopies.
• EKG .
• Urinalysis. CT scan to check which kidney you can donate.
• 24-hour blood pressure monitor.

Read Also: Is Pomegranate Juice Good For Kidneys

Does Donating A Kidney Involve Risks

Every surgery involves both risks and benefits. The short-term risk of living donation involves risks associated with anesthesia and major surgery. Possible long-term risks of kidney donation may include high blood pressure, reduced kidney function, hernia, organ impairment or failure that may lead to the need for dialysis, transplantation or even death.

At Memorial Transplant Institute, all donors go through a comprehensive evaluation process to assess all aspects of a person’s health before moving forward. In addition, our living donor team will discuss the unique risks and benefits that living kidney donation may entail for each donor’s specific circumstances.

What Can I Expect After Kidney Donation Surgery

Youll stay in the hospital for two to three days. You may experience pain, tenderness or itching at the incision sites for few days. Fatigue is also common in the first few weeks.

Most people resume their usual activities within four to six weeks. After surgery, you should not:

• Drive for two weeks.
• Get pregnant for at least one year.
• Lift anything heavy for six weeks.

You should expect to do follow-ups with the team for two years.

Read Also: Is Almond Milk Bad For Your Kidneys

Severe Predictable Complications After Nephroureterectomy Due To Increased Clinical Risks Known Pre

Our experience with donors from this category has shown that they can be operated on without an increased rate of complications when intensified perioperative measurements are taken . The easiest way of reducing risks and complications is to exclude patients with known risk factors, a policy applied by many transplantation centres. The decision, however, becomes more difficult when the donor is highly motivated. In one case, a 65-year-old patient, in excellent mental condition is resolved to sacrifice a kidney for his diseased wife, despite being told that there is a 3050% probability of myocardial infarction resulting from coronary heart disease. The conflict between self-determination of the patient and the doctors sense of responsibility has to be addressed by a multidisciplinary team, including psychologists and anaesthesiologists. With regard to the future development of living donor renal transplantation, the following question arises: Which criteria, especially considering the progress of intensive care, are to be considered if one is going to accept donors with predictably raised risks?

For Both The Recipient And The Living Donor:

• Flexible time frame: Surgery can be scheduled at a time that is convenient for both the donor and recipient.
• Removes a candidate from the list: A living donor removes a candidate from the national transplant waiting list, which is currently above 114,000 people. This allows the people on the waiting list who cannot find a living donor a better chance of receiving the gift of life from a deceased donor.
• Immediate impact: The impact of a transplant is so striking that recipients often look noticeably healthier as soon as they emerge from surgery.

Read Also: How Much Does A Human Kidney Weigh

Are There Any Long

It is important to be aware that, although risks across the board are generally very low, every individual is different and it is possible for other uncommon complications to occur. For example, although rare, on-going fatigue and persistent pain have been reported by small numbers of the thousands of living donors.

However, most donors lead a normal, healthy life after they have donated and are able to do all the activities that they were doing before.

Will Donating A Kidney Prevent You From Becoming Pregnant

Although studies have shown that kidney donation does not affect the completion of a safe pregnancy and childbirth, it is typically recommended to wait to become pregnant at least six months after surgery. Be sure to talk with your physician or gynecologist about your interest in donation and the effect it could have on future pregnancies.

Recommended Reading: Can You Have 4 Kidneys

Becoming A Living Kidney Donor

To be a living kidney donor, you must be of good physical and mental health. You would typically be between the ages of 18 and 60 years, and you must be free of any diseases that could affect the health of the person receiving the kidney. A specialist medical team will test to make sure you are a matching blood and tissue type. A close match is more likely with genetically related donors.

What If I Have A Bad Reaction To The Vaccine

Right after you get the vaccine, a health care worker will monitor you for 15 minutes to make sure you do not have a bad reaction. If anything happens that is dangerous to your health, a health care worker will take steps to treat you and make sure you are safe. If you have a severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, after getting your first COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC recommends that you do not get a second shot of any of the vaccines.

Talk to your doctor if you have questions about allergies or a bad reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Also Check: Does Red Wine Cause Kidney Stones

Balancing Risks And Benefits Of Living Donation

There is unanimous agreement that all transplant teams should make every possible effort to help prospective donors make an informed decision by providing them with quantitative risk estimates . If the risks are unknown, adequate and informed decision-making is almost impossible. When prospective donors are faced with an unknown risk, they may be unable to rationally decide, and the transplant team has a difficult task in balancing the risks and benefits of living donation .

Key to balancing benefits and risks is a comprehensive knowledge of the short-term as well as long-term risks of donor nephrectomy. In this article we especially focus on the evidence of any association between nephrectomy and the long-term risk of ESRD or death in the individual kidney donor.

Living With One Kidney

It makes sense to ask, if we’re born with two kidneys, how can we live normally with one? It’s another one of those wonders of how the human body adapts and compensates when it needs to. When you donate a kidney, cells in the remaining kidney enlarge to handle the filtration and work that two did before. Obviously, when you give away a healthy kidney, keeping your remaining kidney healthy becomes a priority. Long term, donating a kidney has minimal risks on your overall health. Kidney donors have a slight increased risk for developing high blood pressure and women who become pregnant after donating have a slight increased risk of developing preeclampsia.

Research has shown that donating a kidney doesn’t change your life expectancy. You do have a slight increase in risk for developing kidney failureless than one percentand if you do, your donation gives you priority status, moving you to the top of the waiting list.

Read Also: Can Seltzer Water Cause Kidney Stones