Donating a kidney is a generous and selfless act that can save someone's life. However, it is important to understand the risks and potential long-term effects of donating a kidney before making the decision. Kidney donation is a low-risk procedure, but that doesn't mean it's risk-free. Although complications occur less than 5 percent of the time, as with any surgical procedure, there is a small chance of infection, complications from anesthesia, bleeding, blood clots, hernias, or postoperative pneumonia.
Side effects may include nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Some donors have reported long-term problems with pain, nerve damage, hernias, or intestinal obstruction. These risks appear to be rare, but there are currently no national statistics on the frequency of these problems.Living donation doesn't change life expectancy and, after recovering from surgery, most donors go on to live happy, healthy and active lives. This may be because only healthy people are approved to be donors, or perhaps donors take extra health precautions after donating a kidney.
Many people feel some numbness around the incision.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 leading to the need for dialysis or a transplant. A recent Toronto study states that women who have donated a kidney have a higher risk of developing gestational hypertension or preeclampsia during post-donation pregnancies. Studies have shown that donating a kidney or part of the liver does not affect a woman's ability to have children.You will be asked questions to ensure that you are mentally and emotionally ready to donate a kidney and that you have a support system to help you after donation surgery. Our team teaches you how to detect the symptoms of complications during your recovery.
Most complications don't happen very often and most can be treated.Advances in surgery and care now allow people to donate a kidney to help family, friends, or even strangers who need a transplant. There has been no systematic national collection of long-term data on the risks associated with the donation of living organs.Living donation is a type of kidney transplant in which a living person donates one of their two healthy kidneys to a person living with kidney disease. Many donors say they feel better about themselves after donating, and most say that if they could do it again, they would still choose to donate their kidney. 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 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.Donating can be selfless and rewarding, and studies have shown that living donors live as long as people who never donated. If the donor evaluation team decides that you are healthy and that you are a good choice for the person receiving the kidney, you may be approved to donate the kidney.It is important to consider all aspects before deciding whether or not to donate your live kidneys. You may also want to talk about donating live kidneys with people you trust, such as family and friends. Ultimately it is up to you to decide if donating your kidney is right for you.
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