(March 9, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

Live kidney donation does not appear to increase long-term mortality risk, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Here are some recommendations for evaluating potential kidney donors, from the United Network for Organ Sharing

•    Donor kidney function should be tested to determine serum creatinine, calculated creatinine clearance, and urine protein excretion.

•    Donor should undergo imaging studies to determine that there are two kidneys of normal size and appearance and to outline the renal vascular and urinary drainage anatomy.

•    Donor should undergo assessment of surgical risk.

Researchers out of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore studied the short- and long-term outcomes of over 80,000 live kidney donors drawn from a mandated national registry. All participants had donated a kidney between April 1, 1994 and March 31, 2009. Their outcomes were compared with those of 9,364 participants in the third National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), none of whom were contraindicated for kidney donation.

Surgical mortality from live kidney donation was 3.1 per 10,000 donors and did not change during the last 15 years of the study period. Mortality was higher in men, black individuals, and those with hypertension. After a median follow-up period 6.3 years, mortality rates were similar for live donors and age- and comorbidity-matched comparators.

Today’s research highlights the relative safety of live kidney donation.