Perioperative Mortality Low for Living Kidney Donors

THURSDAY, Aug. 29, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Perioperative mortality has decreased after living kidney donation, with 0.9 deaths per 10,000 during 2013 to 2022, according to a research letter published online Aug. 28 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Allan B. Massie, Ph.D., from NYU Langone Health in New York City, and colleagues conducted a national registry study to characterize temporal trends in perioperative mortality in donors using data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients for living kidney donors from 1993 to 2022. Mortality ratios were calculated within 90 days of donation, stratified across three time periods: 1993 through 2002, 2003 through 2012, and 2013 through 2022.

The study included 164,593 donors, of whom 36 died within 90 days postdonation (2.2 per 100,000 cases); 50 percent of deaths occurred within the first seven days. The researchers found that the most common cause of death was hemorrhage (eight deaths of 19 with reported cause of death). Mortality was comparable in 1993-2002 and 2003-2012 (13 and 18 deaths, respectively), then declined significantly in 2013-2022 (five deaths; 3.0 and 2.9 per 10,000, respectively, versus 0.9 per 10,000). Across subgroups of age, race, and ethnicity, there were no significant differences observed. Mortality was higher for male than female donors (4.0 versus 1.0 per 10,000). Mortality was consistent across body mass index categories. Donors with a history of predonation hypertension had significantly higher mortality (7.5 versus 1.4 per 10,000).

"Perioperative mortality after living donation declined substantially in the past decade compared with prior decades, to fewer than one event per 10,000 donations," the authors write.

Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry; one also disclosed ties to the publishing industry.

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