Nearly 1 in 7 kidney transplant donors face complications post-surgery

A new study on the long-term complications faced by those who donate their kidneys found that nearly 15% of all living kidney donors faced some kind of complication following the procedure. Looking at data from 27 studies between 1963 to 2016, scientists reported that 8% of living kidney donors developed high blood pressure following the operation, while some 2% of donors developed diabetes and a separate condition that results in excess protein in the urine. The vast majority of the post-donation complications also occurred two or more years following the donation, suggesting the need for more long-term follow-up with living donors.