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Most living liver donors show no signs of decreased long-term health

Living donor hepatectomy did not negatively affect the long-term physical and mental health of donors, according to new study data.

Researchers assessed data of 458 living liver donors (mean age, 38 years; 53% women) enrolled in the Adult to Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation (A2ALL) study who donated between 1998 and 2010. To determine health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) outcomes after donation, a short-form survey was performed at evaluation, at 3 months, and yearly after donation. The survey measured physical component summaries (PCS) and mental component summaries (MCS) before and after donation to see whether HRQOL was affected. Eighty-two percent of the donors (n=374) had available survey data, and only 354 of these had post-donation data available for the final analysis.

Each time the survey was performed, the PCS score was higher than the population norm (range, 50.9-56.9) and so was the MCS score (range, 51.7-54.5), according to the research. The pre-donation mean PCS score was 56.9 ± 4.5; 5.3% of all donors had a low PCS score. The donors’ PCS scores were lowest 3 months after donation (27% had low scores). However, only 6% reported poor physical well-being 1 year after donation, according to the research. The pre-donation MCS mean score was 54.3 ± 5.3 and the scores did not increase at 3 months, similar to the PCS scores.

According to analyses, recipient death within 2 years before reporting HRQOL data (P=.05), 3 months after donation compared with all other time points (P<.0001), Hispanic ethnicity (P=.01), education less than a bachelor’s degree (P=.02) and longer time since donation as a continuous variable (P=.001) were all predictors of low PCS score. Recipient death within 2 years of reporting HRQOL data (P=.004) and an education less than a bachelor’s degree (P=.02) were predictors for low MCS score.   

“This investigation provides supportive data that HRQOL for living liver donors is generally good in the short term and remains so in the long term,” the researchers concluded. “Certain groups of donors, such as Hispanic donors, those with low educational attainment, and those whose recipients die, at increased risk for poor perceived well-being and may benefit from additional or tailored support. This information will be valuable for counseling potential donors and for providing optimal care for those who proceed with donation.”

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.