When it comes to organ donation, many people worry that it will decrease their life expectancy. However, research has shown that this is not the case. In fact, studies have found that people who donate a kidney outlive the average population. Twenty years after the donation, 85 percent of kidney donors were still alive, while the expected survival rate was 66 percent.
This may be because only healthy people are approved to be donors, or perhaps donors take extra health precautions after donating a kidney. Despite the higher initial perioperative mortality, partial live liver donation may be less risky in the long term compared to live kidney donation. In addition, you help another patient on the waiting list because your donation leaves the recipient's place vacant on the list for the next person when a deceased donor's kidney is available. Some possible long-term risks of donating a kidney may include high blood pressure (hypertension), the high amount of protein in the urine, hernia, organ alteration or insufficiency that leads to the need for dialysis or a transplant.
We assume that many of the future risks that may affect life expectancy and ESRD, such as cancer, obesity, smoking, etc., were not influenced by the act of kidney donation. According to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) in the United Kingdom, the lifespan of a deceased donor's kidney is 12 years. There has been no systematic national collection of long-term data on the risks associated with the donation of living organs. Living kidney donation was associated with an additional risk of ESRD, especially among males and blacks.
Better survival among donors is likely due to the fact that only healthy people are accepted for live kidney donation. Knowing the long-term risks associated with kidney donation is important for potential donors and their providers. Live liver donation is reported to have a perioperative mortality rate of 1.7 deaths per 1000 operations, but it has no long-term consequences.A recent study from Toronto states that women who have donated a kidney have a higher risk of developing gestational hypertension or preeclampsia during post-donation pregnancies. However, studies have shown that donating a kidney or part of the liver does not affect a woman's ability to have children.
The study suggests that the increase in risk is not enormous (an increase of about 6%) and, in fact, most women who have donated a kidney can safely carry a pregnancy to term.In conclusion, donating an organ does not decrease life expectancy and can even increase it in some cases. Donors go on to live happy and healthy lives after recovering from surgery and can even help another patient on the waiting list by leaving their place vacant for them when a deceased donor's kidney is available.
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