47,705 adult living kidney donors as reported to OPTN from 1999 to 2011 were analyzed using their pre-donation BMI (body mass index)
- 35.6% were normal weight.
- 40.5% were overweight
- 18.9% were mildly obese
- 4.2% were moderate to morbidly obese
- Overweight and mildly obese kidney donors have increased through time by 12% and 20% every 5 years, respectively
- 63.6% of living kidney donors over the past thirteen years have spanned the overweight to obese categories
According to OPTN guidelines, having a BMI greater than 35 kg/m2 is considered a relative contraindication to be a living kidney donor. However, based on a 2007 survey, 20% of transplant centers surveyed excluded those with BMI greater than 40 kg/m2 , 52% excluded donors with BMI greater than 35 kg/m2 , 10% excluded those with BMI over 30 kg/m2 , 12% percent had no policy for exclusion, and 6% excluded based on BMI if they had other cardiovascular risks.
- Short term outcomes of obese living kidney donors have shown increased wound related complications and longer operative times
- At five year follow up, Kramer et al found that overweight and obese individuals had 20% and 40% risk of developing chronic kidney disease.
- Having a higher baseline BMI can serve as an independent risk factor for end stage kidney disease.
- The long term effects of obesity on the solitary kidney of a kidney donor are still uncertain. This risk factor increases the risk of developing other co-morbid conditions such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or even proteinuria which can together compromise the function of their solitary kidney
- At a mean of 11 year follow up, obese donors had an increased risk of developing hypertension and dyslipidemia.
Read the entire article at the link (above). Take care of yourselves.
Sachdeva, M. (2015). Weight trends in United States living kidney donors: Analysis of the UNOS database World Journal of Transplantation, 5 (3) DOI: 10.5500/wjt.v5.i3.137
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