Long-term health-related quality of life of living kidney donors: a single-center experience

Purpose Over the last few years, the evaluation of the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of living kidney donors (LKD) has become of particular interest. The present study sought to evaluate the physical and mental HRQoL after kidney removal. The clinical and paraclinical course of these patients was examined, and the impact of preoperative donor evaluation, donor nephrectomy, and surgical recovery was evaluated. These data were compared with reference data of the general population. Methods Between 1998 and 2010, 72 living kidney donations were performed at our institution. To assess the HRQoL, two questionnaires—the Short Form 36 (SF-36) and a special LKD questionnaire—were sent to all 72 living donors. The records of the follow-up examinations of all 72 donors were retrospectively analyzed in order to assess the clinical and paraclinical data after kidney donation. Results Out of 72 donors, 55 (76.4 %) responded to the questionnaires. There was no change in systolic and diastolic blood pressure during the 7-year follow-up ( p > 0.05). Mild proteinuria (>150 mg/l) was observed in six cases. Kidney donors had a higher HRQoL compared to the general population with mean values of the physical and mental summation scale (PCS and MCS, respectively) being 51.3 (SD = 7.6) and 50.6 (SD = 8.1). Peri- or postoperative complications were associated with lower values for physical function and physical component summary (PCS) ( p < 0.05). Discussion Living donor kidney transplantation appears to be safe for donors. The HRQoL is excellent. To ensure a positive outcome for donors, a good clinical evaluation of potential donors is essential.