Living Donation – Page 3

July 21, 2022August 16, 2022

What are the criteria for live donor liver transplants?

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, around 8,096 liver transplants took place in 2020 alone, with 11,772 candidates awaiting transplantation at the end of 2020. Liver transplants traditionally come from deceased donors. Centers prioritize transplants and allocate these livers to individuals based on their level of sickness.

On the other hand, a living donor liver transplant is partial liver transplantation. It can be an alternative to waiting for a deceased donor until the liver disease becomes too severe to require a full organ transplant. Read more in Medical News Today.

July 19, 2022August 16, 2022

Pregnancy after kidney donation shows low increased risk for complications

Among white women, pregnancies after donating a kidney pose similar complications to those experienced by the general population; although, a low increase in risk is observed.

Further, investigators observed similar fetal and neonatal risks among pregnancies before and after donation. Read more in Healio.

June 15, 2022August 16, 2022

Living kidney donors with obesity less at risk for hypertension vs. non-donors with obesity

Living kidney donors with obesity are at less of a risk for hypertension compared with non-donors with obesity, according to a presentation at the American Transplant Congress.

Further, weight loss correlated with reduced hypertension onset, especially among donors.
Read more in Healio here.

May 25, 2022August 16, 2022

What are the Risks of Donating a Kidney?

There are approximately 100,000 people in the United States waiting for a kidney, and many more living kidney donors are needed to give kidney patients a chance to receive a life-saving kidney transplant. If you are considering becoming a living kidney donor, you may be wondering whether kidney donation is safe, or if there are any risks associated with kidney donation surgery.

A new study by the Mayo Clinic confirms that the risk of major complications for living kidney donors is minimal. Of the 3,002 living kidney donors who underwent laparoscopic kidney donor surgery at the Mayo Clinic transplant center from 2000 to 2019, 12.4% had minor post-surgical complications. Just 2.5% of patients in the study experienced major complications, and all made a complete recovery. The study tracked complications that occurred up to 120 days after surgery. Read more from the National Kidney Registry.

May 12, 2022August 16, 2022

What to Expect After Donation

What is the recovery period and when can the donor return to normal activities?

The length of stay in the hospital will vary depending on the individual donor’s rate of recovery and the type of procedure performed (traditional vs laparoscopic kidney removal) although the usual stay is 1 to 3 nights. Since the rate of recovery varies greatly among individuals, be sure to ask the transplant center for their estimate of your particular recovery time. Read the full story from the National Kidney Foundation.

May 1, 2022August 16, 2022

Study confirms living kidney donor surgery is low risk for most patients

The risk of major complications for people who donate a kidney via laparoscopic surgery is minimal. That is the conclusion of a 20-year Mayo Clinic study of more than 3,000 living kidney donors. Only 2.5% of patients in the study experienced major complications, and all recovered completely.

“The results of this study are extremely reassuring for individuals who are considering being living kidney donors. We found that this lifesaving surgery, when performed at experienced transplant centers, is extremely safe,” says Timucin Taner, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Division of Transplant Surgery at Mayo Clinic’s William J. von Liebig Center for Transplantation and Clinical Regeneration in Minnesota. Dr. Taner is a co-author of the study. Read more in Medical Xpress.