Study examines concerns of living kidney donors

In a study appearing in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology that examined living kidney donors’ concerns about their decision to undergo kidney removal, investigators found long-term kidney health, aspects of surgery and recovery and impact on life satisfaction were most important.

Camilla Hanson, BPsych (Hons), PhD, from the University of Sydney, and her colleagues recruited previous donors from three transplant units in Australia and Canada to participate in focus groups. According to a press release from the American Society of Nephrology, participants had a range of demographic and donation characteristics, such as time since donation, relationship with the recipient and complications.

Across 14 focus groups that included 123 donors, investigators found kidney health was the most important post-donation concern to kidney donors, followed by the surgical, lifestyle, functional and psychosocial impacts of donation. According to the release, the hypothetical long-term risks associated with kidney removal – including mortality and cardiovascular disease – were of relatively lesser importance. The 10 highest-ranked outcomes were kidney function, time to recovery, surgical complications, impact on family, donor-recipient relationship, life satisfaction, lifestyle restrictions, kidney failure, mortality and acute pain/discomfort.

In a study that examined living kidney donors’ concerns about their decision to undergo kidney removal, investigators found long-term kidney health, aspects of surgery and recovery and impact on life satisfaction were most important

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“Our results may help to ensure that the outcomes most relevant to donors are consistently included in research, education, assessment and follow-up care,” Hanson said in the release.

In an accompanying editorial, Milda Saunders, MD, MPH, and Michelle Josephson, MD, from the University of Chicago, noted the study illustrates that past donors care about medical and non-medical outcomes.

“More than anything, this work demonstrates that we cannot simply assume we know what donors care and worry about. We must talk with them about their priorities and concerns both before and after surgery,” the researchers wrote.

Reference:

www.asn-online.org/

Disclosure s : The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.

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Source:

Hanson C, et al. Clin J Am Soc Neprhol. 2018;doi:10.2215/CJN.13441217