(Brussels, Belgium) – – – Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) this week held the first meeting of its Work Group Co-chairs and Evidence Review Team developing the KDIGO Clinical Practice Guideline on Living Kidney Donation. The meeting was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

KDIGO is a self-managed, global organization focused on improving patient outcomes through evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, controversies conferences on cutting edge kidney disease topics, and implementation of guidelines around the world.   KDIGO has published eight guidelines to date. The most recent, on Diagnosis and Management of CKD, was published in January 2013. KDIGO’s next guideline, on Dyslipidemia and CKD, will be published in August 2013. The Living Donor guideline will follow in 2014.

The Living Donor Guideline Work Group is co-chaired by Amit Garg of Canada and Josep Campistol of Spain. The Work Group has sixteen other members, all recognized experts in the field of living donor kidney transplantation. This will be a global effort to review all the relevant evidence and formulate practical recommendations for patients and care givers to improve patient outcomes.

The Living Donor Guideline is being developed as a collaboration between KDIGO and the Transplantation Society (TTS).   The TTS is helping fund the guideline and has provided several of its leaders as participants in the work group. An important element in any KDIGO guideline is global dissemination and implementation. Both groups will work together to make these recommendations available around the world.

KDIGO also is grateful for the support of the Canadian Society of Transplantation, the Canadian Society of Nephrology and Canadian Blood Services for their support of the development of this important guideline.

KDIGO Co-chair, David Wheeler, MD of the Medical College, London, said, “We know there is much we can do to improve the process of living kidney donation. Our recommendations will cover the care of living donors, their selection, risk assessment and long term prognosis.”

“We know that the gift of live donation substantially increases the number of kidneys available for transplantation in many parts of the world and thus allows more patients with end stage kidney disease to receive optimal therapy. We hope that the guideline will help to ensure that these donors receive the best quality of care, based on our current scientific knowledge.”

KDIGO guidelines follow a rigorous scientific process to assure thorough analysis of the published evidence, clear statements built from that evidence and a scientific based series of recommendations that are relevant around the world. The evidence review process for this guideline is led by the AHRQ Center at the University of Minnesota.

“TTS is pleased to work with KDIGO on this important project for our patients,” said Dr. Francis Delmonico, TTS President. “We look forward to making these recommendations relevant to transplant programs in both developed and developing countries. Living donors are vital to the success of our mission to provide quality care through transplantation to as many people in need as we can regardless of where they live.”

The next step in the KDIGO process is public comment on the Work Group’s plans. A description of those plans and the scope of the guideline will be made available on the web sites of both KDIGO and TTS. The comments received will be taken into account by the Work Group. When a draft of the actual guideline is ready, it too will be made available for public comment. Public comments and the Work Group’s responses will be published with the guideline.

KDIGO Co-chair, Bertram Kasiske of the University of Minnesota added, “I am especially glad that KDIGO and TTS have teamed up to produce a needed guideline on such an important element of transplantation. This collaboration, along with our close work with the International Society of Nephrology, brings a global focus to our guidelines.”

KDIGO is a Belgian Foundation in the Public Interest. Its governance is provided by elected volunteers. The Living Donor Guideline will further KDIGO’s reputation for excellence as the only global organization developing guidelines in kidney disease.

For further information please contact KDIGO Communications at [email protected].

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