what happens to you when you donate a kidney

by Dana Franecki 6 min read

What are the side effects of donating a kidney?

  • Pain.
  • Infection (such as pneumonia or wound infection)
  • Blood clot.
  • Reaction to anesthesia.
  • Death (Worldwide mortality rate for living kidney donors is 0.03% to 0.06%)
  • Conversion to open nephrectomy.
  • Need for re-operation (such as for bleeding)
  • Re-admission to hospital.

Kidney donation involves major surgery and there are risks, including bleeding and infection. But the overwhelming majority of kidney donors recover with minimal complications. After your kidney is removed (nephrectomy), you'll usually stay only overnight in the hospital and complete your recovery at home.

Full Answer

How long is the recovery after donating a kidney?

A kidney doctor to help you care for your kidneys before and after transplant. Living donor coordinator. Usually a nurse who works with you and your transplant team to manage your care. Financial coordinator. A person who helps you figure out your costs to donate, your insurance, and how you can afford any costs your insurance doesn’t cover ...

What are the dangers of donating a kidney?

Jul 22, 2019 · You will have some unexpected bumps in the road after surgery. Throughout the entire process of donating my kidney, the doctors and nurses were excellent, explaining what I should expect to feel post-surgery and reassuring me that recovery would not take all that long.

What are the side effects of donating a kidney?

What are the side effects of donating a kidney? Pain. Infection (such as pneumonia or wound infection) Blood clot. Reaction to anesthesia. Death (Worldwide mortality rate for living kidney donors is 0.03% to 0.06%) Conversion to open nephrectomy. …

What are the pros and cons of donating a kidney?

When you only have one kidney, there's a greater chance of long-term issues like high blood pressure. Talk to your doctor about the possible problems …

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What are side effects of donating a kidney?

Risks and Benefits of Living Kidney DonationPain.Infection (such as pneumonia or wound infection)Blood clot.Reaction to anesthesia.Death (Worldwide mortality rate for living kidney donors is 0.03% to 0.06%)Conversion to open nephrectomy.Need for re-operation (such as for bleeding)Re-admission to hospital.More items...

Does donating a kidney shorten your life?

Living donation does not change life expectancy, and does not appear to increase the risk of kidney failure. In general, most people with a single normal kidney have few or no problems; however, you should always talk to your transplant team about the risks involved in donation.

What will happen after donating one kidney?

After one kidney is removed for donation, the remaining kidney undergoes a process known as “Compensatory Hypertrophy” i.e. it increases in size and takes over the function of the other kidney as well. The donor leads a normal life after donation.

Why you shouldn't donate your kidney?

Possible long-term risks to donating a kidney include hyper-tension (high blood pressure), hernia, organ impairment and the need for organ transplant, kidney failure, and death.

Can I drink alcohol with one kidney?

Alcohol affects all of your body's organs. However, the effects of alcohol on one kidney lead to multiple issues. Although drinking one to two drinks a day typically won't be an issue, if you have one kidney, it will. When you drink, you will generally urinate more.Oct 16, 2020

What is the best age to donate a kidney?

18 years or olderTo donate a kidney, you must be in good physical and mental health. As a general rule, you should be 18 years or older.

Is donating a kidney painful?

How much will it hurt? Everyone is different, but you could be in a lot of pain after the surgery. But it will get easier each day, and there are different types of pain relievers to make you feel better. Shortly after surgery, as your anesthesia wears off, you'll get pain medication through an IV into a vein.Nov 19, 2020

Can a kidney grow back?

The simple answer to the question “Is it possible to grow a kidney?” is “Yes,” because Marc Hammerman, MD, and his colleague, Sharon Rogers, MS, have done it—and with greater success than any other researchers in the world.Mar 1, 2014

Do kidney donors gain weight?

Overall, among all donors, weight increased significantly following kidney donation from 79.5 ± 2.5 kg to 81.8 ± 2.7 kg at last follow-up (mean difference 2.3 ± 0.9 kg, P < . 0001) (Table 2).May 7, 2019

How many people are waiting for a kidney transplant?

At least 101,000 of those people are waiting for a kidney transplant. That number may not sound unattainable. But, only 17,000 people actually receive kidney transplants per year, according to the National Kidney Foundation.

How long does a kidney transplant last?

The Procedure. The average kidney transplantation surgery lasts for about three hours. “Shortly before going into surgery, medicine is given to the patients to help them relax. A general anesthetic is then given.

Where are the donor and recipient?

The donor and recipient are in adjacent operating rooms. The transplant surgeon removes the kidney from the donor and prepares it for transplant into the recipient,” according to Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “There, the surgeon connects the renal artery and vein of the new kidney to the recipient’s artery and vein.

Do living donors care for transplant patients?

Many members of your living donor team are part of the transplant center, but do not care for transplant patients. Some members work for the hospital and are there to assess and advocate for you.

What is the team that does your testing and interviews called?

The team that does your testing and interviews is called the living donor team . The living donor team will help guide you through your testing and interviews and teach you about the process of donating.

What to expect if you donate a kidney?

Most kidney donors recover in the hospital for 2 to 5 days before they head home. You ‘ll probably still have some discomfort for the next week or two, but you ‘ll get a prescription for pain medication to keep you comfortable. Full recovery takes time. You should expect to lay low for at least a month after you donate.

Will I be OK if I donate a kidney?

Most people do not experience health problems as a result of donation. A large study of the long-term effects of kidney donation had good news for people who donate kidneys. Doctors reported that living kidney donors can expect to live full, healthy lives. Donors had very few long-term health problems, in most cases.

How long can you live with one kidney?

This usually takes 25 years or more to happen. There may also be a chance of having high blood pressure later in life. However, the loss in kidney function is usually very mild, and life span is normal. Most people with one kidney live healthy, normal lives with few problems.

What disqualifies you from being a kidney donor?

You must also have normal kidney function. There are some medical conditions that could prevent you from being a living donor. These include having uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, HIV, hepatitis, or acute infections.

Do you gain weight after donating a kidney?

Overall, among all donors, median weight from initial assessment to kidney donation was 0 (−1.8, 1.1) and median weight increased following kidney donation by 2.0 (−0.6, 4.0) kg.

Does donating a kidney shorten your life?

Living donation does not change life expectancy, and does not appear to increase the risk of kidney failure. In general, most people with a single normal kidney have few or no problems; however, you should always talk to your transplant team about the risks involved in donation.

Who pays if you donate a kidney?

Who pays for living donation? Generally, the recipient’s Medicare or private health insurance will pay for the following for the donor ( if the donation is to a family member or friend).

Who Can I Give My Kidney To?

You can donate a kidney to a family member or friend who needs one. You can also give it to someone you don't know. Doctors call this a “nondirected” donation, in which case you might decide to meet the person you donate to, or choose to stay anonymous. Either way, doctors will give your kidney to the person who needs it most and is the best match.

Am I Healthy Enough to Donate a Kidney?

Your doctor will do some tests to find out for sure. They’ll check your blood and urine, and may also do an ultrasound or take X-rays of your kidneys. You may not be able to donate if you have medical issues like diabetes or high blood pressure.

What Happens After Surgery?

Your doctor will prescribe medications to help manage your pain. They’ll also want you to get up and start moving around shortly afterward.

How Can I Donate?

If you want to give your kidney to a friend or family member, talk to the doctor at the transplant center. You'll start taking tests to see if you're a match.

What happens after donating blood?

After donating, your remaining kidney will take on the work of both kidneys. 5. Your blood and tissue type must be compatible with your recipient’s. Besides being healthy, living donors must have compatible blood and tissue types with the kidney recipient.

How long after donating a kidney can you get pregnant?

Still, women should wait one year after donating a kidney before they get pregnant. This gives your body plenty of time to heal. 9. You can talk to someone who's donated before. Our living kidney donor program can help you speak with someone from our program who has donated a kidney.

What is the biggest barrier for kidney transplants?

The biggest barrier for kidney transplants today is the availability of donor kidneys. For every successful kidney transplant performed, five people are still waiting. But there are promising trends, as you can see in Diana's story.

How old do you have to be to be a living kidney donor?

If you’d like to be a living kidney donor, are healthy, and are between the ages of 18–69, contact a member of our living kidney donor team. Remember, living kidney donation saves lives.

How long do you have to stay in the hospital after kidney transplant?

Your hospital stay will be short and you can get back to work fairly quickly. Most living kidney donors stay in the hospital for five to 10 days. Depending on what you do for work, you can return to work as soon as two weeks or as late as eight weeks after your surgery.

What tests are needed for a transplant?

Some tests you will have include: blood tests, urine tests, imaging exams, and. cancer screenings.

Can you donate kidneys to someone?

3. You don’t have to be related to someone to donate a kidney to them. In fact, one in four living organ donors is not biologically related to the recipient (the person who receives a donated organ).

Being a living kidney donor

If you have two healthy kidneys, you may be able to donate one of your kidneys to enhance or save someone else's life. Both you and the recipient of your kidney (the person who got your kidney) can live with just one healthy kidney.

Benefits and risks of living kidney donation

There is no doubt that being a living donor is a huge benefit to the recipient (the person who gets your kidney). Recipients of a living donor kidney usually live longer, healthier lives compared to those who receive a deceased donor kidney (a kidney from someone who has just died).

Living donor surgery

If you want to be a living donor, you will need to have a medical exam with blood tests to be sure you are healthy enough to donate a kidney. Some of the tests needed may include:

Fundraise for AKF

"I gave my brother my kidney and fundraised for AKF so others could get theirs." -Jeremy Smith, kidney donor and KidneyNation fundraiser

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Prognosis

  • People can live normal lives with only one kidney. As long as the donor is evaluated thoroughly and cleared for donation, he or she can lead a normal life after the surgery. When the kidney is removed, the single normal kidney will increase in size to compensate for the loss of the donat
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Prevention

  • Physical exercise is healthy and good for you. However, it's important for someone with only one kidney to be careful and protect it from injury. Some doctors think it is best to avoid contact sports like football, boxing, hockey, soccer, martial arts, or wrestling. Wearing protective gear such as padded vests under clothing can help protect the kidney from injury during sports. This can h…
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Risks

  • Living donation does not change life expectancy, and does not appear to increase the risk of kidney failure. In general, most people with a single normal kidney have few or no problems; however, you should always talk to your transplant team about the risks involved in donation. Some studies report that living donors may have a greater chance of developing high blood pres…
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Criticism

  • However, concerns about the recipient's outcome (as well as the donor's recovery) can contribute to feelings of anxiety, and may donors report a feeling of \"let down\" afterwards. Feelings of depression among living donors are not uncommon, even when both donor and recipient are doing well.
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Effects

  • While extensive data on these issues is lacking, some studies have reported the following psychological outcomes:
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Results

  • You will also have a scar from the donor operation- the size and location of the scar will depend on the type of operation you have. After donation you should be able to go back to a regular, healthy lifestyle. If you are in good health, there will probably not be any specific dietary restrictions. Talk with your transplant team about your specific dietary needs.
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Contraindications

  • Pregnancy after donation is possible but is usually not recommended for at least six months after the donation surgery. Living donors should talk to their ob/gyn and transplant team before getting pregnant about pregnancy and make sure that they have good pre-natal care.
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