A presentation at the American Society of Nephrology's Annual Meeting investigated potential long-term risks of kidney donation for donors with risk factors for future kidney disease - such as obesity. Researchers studied thousands of obese and non-obese kidney donors and found obese donors' were more likely to have long-term complications following kidney donation than short-term complications.
 
The study also revealed obesity is common among living donors, especially among African American and Hispanic donors. These individuals are more likely to develop kidney disease. Additional research indicates obese donors have higher blood pressure prior to kidney donation than their non-obese counterparts.
 
The authors of the study stress that while this study indicates obese individuals do not suffer from serious short-term adverse outcomes following kidney donation, the long-term risks to obese donors are uncertain. Uncovering these risks is important because many potential donors are strongly motivated to help loved ones but should also be aware of the risks to themselves.

This article originally appeared in the December 2008 issue of Kidney Transplant Today.