Transplant surgeons have been perfecting donor nephrectomy (removal of a kidney) for decades. Scientific review of the data examining the long-term outcome for living donors clearly shows the safety of the procedure.
Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation examined 70 men and women who had each donated a kidney more than 20 years ago. Their results, published in 1996, suggest that having one kidney does not adversely impact renal function or blood pressure. Living kidney donors return to a normal life shortly following surgery and have no restrictions on their activity, diet, travel or family planning.
“The number of living kidney transplants performed in the United States will soon exceed the number of transplants after death,” says Shamkant Mulgaonkar, M.D., Chief of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System Renal and Pancreas Transplant Centers. “The availability of laparoscopic donor surgery has enhanced people’s willingness and ability to donate a kidney.” In addition to being less invasive, laparoscopic kidney retrieval offers living kidney donors less pain after surgery and quicker recovery. “Laparoscopic donation gets donors back to their family and work as soon as possible, usually within two weeks,” notes Dr. Mulgaonkar.
The living donation of other organs can carry far more risks. The recent death of a liver donor at a New York City hospital brought those dangers into national focus. “Unlike kidney transplantation, liver donor surgery is still new and can be associated with multiple complications in the post-surgical phase,” explains Dr. Mulgaonkar. “Safer techniques are being developed, but, unfortunately, there is not much data available to patients about specific centers and their individual records.”
"Individuals considering donating an organ need to have confidence in more than data alone. “They should have confidence in their transplant team,” stresses Dr. Mulgaonkar. “At our Renal and Pancreas Transplant Centers, more than twenty professionals care for kidney transplant donors and recipients. Each transplant involves a multidisciplinary team that includes surgeons, anesthesiologists, urologists, nurses, dieticians, transplant physicians and coordinators, and social workers – all experienced in meeting the special needs of kidney donors and recipients.”
 Under the guidance of Shamkant Mulgaonkar,
M.D., Chief of the Saint Barnabas Health Care
System Renal and Pancreas Transplant Centers,
the number of living kidney donors has dramatically
increased. Excellent long-term outcomes and laparoscopic kidney removal provide incentives for individuals who are thinking about donating a kidney.
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