Health-Related Quality of Life in Kidney Donors From the Last Five Decades: Results From the RELIVE Study

Abstract

Live donation benefits recipients, but the long-term consequences for donors remain uncertain. RELIVE surveyed kidney donors (N=2,455; 61% women; mean age 58, aged 24 – 94; mean time from donation 17 years, range 5 – 48 years) using the SF-36. The 95% CIs for white and African-American donors included or exceeded SF-36 norms. Over 80% of donors reported average or above average health for their age and sex (p<0.0001). Donors’ age-sex adjusted physical component summary [PCS] scores declined by half a point each decade after donation (p=0.0027); there was no decline in mental component summary [MCS] scores. White donors’ PCS scores were 3 points higher (p = 0.0004) than non-whites’; this difference remained constant over time. 9% of donors had impaired health (PCS or MCS score > 1 SD below norm). Obesity, history of psychiatric difficulties, and non-white race were risk factors for impaired physical health; history of psychiatric difficulties was a risk factor for impaired mental health. Education, older donation age, and a first degree relation to the recipient were protective factors. 1% reported that donation affected their health very negatively. Enhanced pre-donation evaluation and counseling may be warranted, along with ongoing monitoring for overweight donors.

Psychiatric evaluation of organ donor candidates in a university hospital and their anxiety, depression and quality of life levels

“…In one study, potential donors who were overweight or obese, less educated, had prior psychiatric difficulties, were not white, or not first-degree relatives of the recipient represented groups at risk for poor HRQOL. New or enhanced efforts of predonation counseling and education, particularly weight loss counseling and post-donation monitoring efforts, could improve outcomes of these donors (30). Consistent with the exiting literature, our work showed that there was no significant difference in terms of the quality of life when donor candidates were grouped by degree of affinity, on the other hand, the quality of life-pain subscale score was higher for kidney donor candidates.…”

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

“…It is considered a procedure with low morbidity and mortality rates [20,21]. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of LKD is an important topic which has been investigated in several studies [22][23][24][25][26].…”

Living kidney donation

“…Although the risks of gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia seem to be higher in pregnancies among donors than among healthy Work exploring the mental health of living kidney donors is limited, but a recent case-control study from the Netherlands suggested that donation is not associated with short term changes in mental health. 64 Multiple studies suggest that the quality of life of most living kidney donors seems to be at least equal to that of the general population [65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72] and usually returns to pre-donation levels after donation. A thematic synthesis of qualitative work from Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia, however, identified some negative donation-specific experiences among the overall positive experiences, including a sense of loss, fear, vulnerability, and neglect.…”