Living donor kidney transplants: the difficult decisions

Decentralized glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimates in healthy kidney donors show poor correlation and demonstrate the need for improvement in quality and standardization of GFR measurements in Sweden

OBJECTIVE

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is generally accepted as the best overall index of renal function. Thus, all potential live kidney donors are tested to ensure that they have a normal GFR before they are eligible for kidney transplantation. The choice of GFR test is very much dependent on local traditions and may include iohexol, 51Cr-EDTA, inulin, or creatinine clearance based on urine collection, and creatinine clearance calculated from the Cockcroft-Gault or Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation as well as cystatin C. The aim of this study was to compare the results of GFR measurements performed in all actual live kidney donors who have undergone live donor nephrectomy at the University Hospital in Uppsala, Sweden, between the years 2000 and 2004.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The patients were selected from all parts of Sweden and the measurements were performed at their local hospital.

RESULTS

We found large discrepancies between repeated iohexol measurements in these presumably healthy individuals. There was also a poor correlation between iohexol clearance and calculated creatinine clearance using the Cockcroft-Gault (R2=0.046) or MDRD formula (R2=0.045).

CONCLUSIONS

The study shows that the standardization and quality of GFR measurements in Sweden have to be improved.

Psychiatric Disorders: Are They an Absolute Contraindication to Living Donation?

Little information has been published about the suitability of candidates for living organ donation who have a past or current psychiatric diagnosis. A retrospective review of 445 living donor kidney transplants performed at Barnes-Jewish Hospital's transplant center from 1995 to 2005 disclosed 42 donor candidates with such a history, prompting detailed psychological evaluation. Although 41 candidates (10% of the donor pool) met criteria for 1 or more psychiatric diagnoses, none were considered psychologically unfit for donation. Of these, 22 candidates underwent kidney donation without medical or surgical complications and without development of subsequent active psychological problems. Several donors maintained long-term contact up to 12 years to report good health and a high degree of satisfaction with the decision to donate. This experience suggests that for donor candidates with a psychiatric diagnosis, formal psychiatric evaluation to evaluate current mental health stability is warranted. Stable individuals, on or off therapy, can be considered fit to donate with expected short- and long-term outcome prognoses similar to those for the general population.

A Comparative Study of Laparoscopic with Conventional Open Donor Nephrectomy in Renal Transplantation

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN) has been gaining popularity among kidney donors. There have been concerns about the safety and efficacy of the procedure as compared to open donor nephrectomy (ODN). We compare our results on LDN with ODN.

METHODS

We retrospectively analysed our data of LDN and ODN. Duration of surgery, blood loss, period of hospitalisation, per oral intake and analgesic requirements.

RESULT

22 LDNs were done, the operation time ranged from 220-300 minutes, and blood loss from 100-150ml. In the first 10 laparoscopic operations four cases required conversion to open surgical dissection. Only one case was converted to open surgery in the subsequent 12 laparoscopic cases. Oral intake was started on the first postoperative day. Analgesic requirement in laparoscopy cases was less. Patients were mobilised on the first day after surgery. Patients were discharged by seventh day. There was no significant difference in the functioning of the graft after revascularisation in the recipient.

CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy is a safe and effective technique of donor nephrectomy.

MDCT angiography of living laparoscopic renal donors

Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy has become the accepted method of harvesting the kidney at many institutions because of multiple advantages over open donor nephrectomy. Spiral computed tomographic (CT) angiography provides accurate information of renal vascular anatomy and has become an accepted method of preoperative evaluation of potential laparoscopic renal donors. More recently, multidetector CT (MDCT) provides more detailed datasets compared with single-detector spiral CT and has been used for preoperative evaluation of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy to provide accurate anatomic information. MDCT (especially 16- and 64-slice MDCT) angiography has advantages over single-detector helical CT due to rapid scan time that allows coverage of a large volume of interest with higher spatial and temporal resolutions. In this article, we review the current status of MDCT angiography in the evaluation of laparoscopic renal donors and potential advantages of using this technology.

Expanding criteria for the use of living donors: what are the limits?

The cadaver organ shortage has pushed the transplant community to extend the boundaries beyond the traditional criteria used for living donor transplantation. This new liberal policy involves: (1) the type of donor, such as emotionally related individuals, the direct or indirect interchange of donors, anonymous as well as rewarded donation; (2) challenging immunological criteria, using incompatible ABO blood types and or transplantation across a positive cross-match; (3) relaxing clinical criteria related to elderly, hypertensive, or obese donors, or patients with nephrolithiasis, fibromuscular renal artery disease, hematuria, or renal cell carcinomas. However, these practices may be dangerous. They must be clearly validated to promote a liberal policy of donor acceptance since it may carry a risk for both the donor and the recipient as well as for society. It is crucial to ensure the physical integrity of the donor as well as to provide guarantees, for instance a 1-year policy of life insurance, an indefinite long-term medical follow-up and the assurance of going to the top of the waiting list if the donor becomes uremic in the future.