Outcomes

Risks and Potential Complications

The best source of information about expected donor outcomes is your transplant team. In addition, it’s important to take an active role in learning more about these potential surgical risks and long term complications:

Surgical Complications

You should discuss these risks with the surgical team performing your operation:

Long-Term Organ Specific Donor Complications

Kidney

• Hypertension
• Kidney failure
• Proteinuria

Lung

Liver

Pancreas

• Splenectomy
• Pancreatitis
• Diabetes

Intestine

• Short bowl syndrome
• Small bowel obstruction
• Dysvitaminosis
• Weight loss
• Diarrhea

Psychological Concerns

In addition to potential individual health concerns, it is possible for negative psychological consequences to result from living donation.

Depression and anxiety after donation is a common concern and often attributed to the healing process of surgery, renewed family demands and an attention shift from the donor onto the recipient.

As with any transplant, there is also the risk that the recipient will have problems such as infection, rejection of the organ or even death. For a living donor, the news of such problems can be devastating.

Living donors must be made aware of the physical and psychological risks involved before they consent to donate an organ. You should discuss your feelings, questions and concerns with a transplant professional and/or social worker.

Reference and Publication Information

The United Network for Organ Sharing is committed to providing accurate and reliable information for transplant patients. To learn more about our content authorship and review process, please read about our Editorial Board.

The content on this page was originally created on February 25, 2005 by the United Network for Organ Sharing and last modified on March 7, 2007. The following sources were used as references:

Barr ML, Belghiti J, Villamil FG, Pomfret EA, Sutherland DS, Gruessner RW, Langnas AN, Delmonico FL. A report of the Vancouver Forum on the care of the live organ donor: lung, liver, pancreas, and intestine data and medical guidelines. Transplantation. 2006 May 27; 81 (10):1373-85.

A Report of the Amsterdam Forum on the Care of the Live Kidney Donor: Data and Medical Guidelines. Transplantation. 2005 Mar 27; 79 (6):S53-S66.

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