(Brussels, Belgium) – – – Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) announces the publication of the Clinical Practice Guideline on Living Kidney Donation this week in the journal Transplantation. The guideline is based on global science and focuses on the evaluation of potential living kidney donors and the care of donors after donation.
Living kidney donation is an important option for many patients with kidney failure. It does, of course, involve another individual who must make an informed decision about donating. The KDIGO Living Donor Guideline examines the benefits and risks involved in that decision. While it may considerably enhance the quality of life of the recipient, it may also involve risks for the donor. An expert Work Group, co-chaired by Drs. Amit Garg of Canada and Krista Lentine of the US, developed the guideline with assistance from an independent evidence review team from University of Minnesota and Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research.
This guideline was supported in part by The Transplantation Society. It also includes data analyses and an ESKD Risk Calculator developed by the Chronic Kidney Disease-Prognosis Consortium led by Dr. Josef Coresh of Johns Hopkins. The full text of the guideline and the calculator can be found on the KDIGO website: www.kdigo.org.
“We are very pleased to provide this guideline to the global transplant and kidney communities so that informed and scientifically based information is available when living kidney donation is being considered. Our belief is that those decisions should be made with complete understanding of the risks and benefits involved for the donor.”
– David Wheeler, KDIGO Co-Chair
David Wheeler, co-chair of KDIGO said, “We are very pleased to provide this guideline to the global transplant and kidney communities so that informed and scientifically based information is available when living kidney donation is being considered. Our belief is that those decisions should be made with complete understanding of the risks and benefits involved for the donor.”
“Living donation is often the best chance our kidney failure patients have to resume a normal life and restored health. It is a unique part of today’s medical care where a person with perfectly normal health undergoes a major operation and gives up a part of his body solely to benefit another person. The benefit is truly great, usually for both of those involved as well as their families. However, such a major decision should be made with a full understanding of the facts regarding risk.” Dr. Wheeler added.
The guideline deals with many aspects of living donation, such as the evaluation of potential donors, selection of who can donate, the care of the donor both long and short term after donation and policies to assist donors. Living donors make thousands of transplants possible around the world every year and as such this guideline strives for a comprehensive approach to risk assessment of potential donors and a framework that advocates for transparent and defensible shared decision making.
KDIGO is a Belgian foundation committed to developing and implementing nephrology guidelines that improve patient outcomes on a global basis.
For further information please contact KDIGO at KDIGOcommunications@kdigo.org.
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