Kidney donors don't regret - Follow-up of 370 donors in Stockholm since 1964

Background. The aim of the study was to present the views of our kidney don ors since 1964, at the time of donation, as well as later on-and to assess their current subjective health. Methods. A total of 451 living-donor nephrectomies were performed on Swedis h residents in Stockholm from April 1964 until the end of 1995. A questionn aire with 11 questions about the donation and a standardized health form (S B-36) were sent to all donors alive in 1997 (n=403). Results. The mean age (+/-SD) of the donors was 61+/-14 years at follow-up and the time-since-donation was 12.5+/-7.7 years, The response rate was ver y good (92%). Current health, as assessed by form SP-36, was satisfactory. Donors scored somewhat better than those reported in a random sample of the Swedish population. The decision to donate had been easy: 86% made the dec ision themselves, without being pushed. Twenty-three percent thought that t he nephrectomy had been troublesome. A higher percentage of young donors ha d felt that the postoperative period was difficult. Most donors (56%) state d that it had taken more than 2 months before they returned to a "normal" L ife, and 5% felt that they never completely recovered. Less than 1% of the donors regretted the donation. The commonest current medical prescription w as antihypertensives (15%). The actual mean serum creatinine was 103+/-22 ( range 48-219) mu mol/L. Conclusions. The results indicate that the degree of health is at least as high as in the general population. The decision to donate was easy for most of the donors, but surgery and the recovery period were troublesome and la sted longer than expected. Kidney function was acceptable.