The Living Organ Donor Network: a model registry for living kidney donors

The South-Eastern Organ Procurement Foundation presents the first report on a programme to track donors through questionnaires completed at the time of donation, 3 months, 6 months, and yearly thereafter. Donors at participating centres were eligible for an insurance policy with a total benefit of 250,000 US dollars, covering accidental death related to donation, surgery, medical expenses of complications, and disability income. The four participating centres have registered 104 donors. Response rate to the questionnaires was 90.91%. The majority of the donors come from the immediate family (81.62%), either by blood or marriage. The majority of donors are employed full time, with income ranges similar to the national census. Donors rely on employer-provided vacation time and sick leave to recuperate, but the average donor required 12 days of unpaid leave before returning to work. Donors also experienced costs of transportation, lodging, and childcare. Anti-depressants were prescribed to 10.58% of donors, and 4.8% of donors reported they are treated for hypertension. Complications were reported by 37.5% of the donors, but only 7.6% of the complications were serious enough to require hospitalization or surgery. Donors reported higher complication rates than reported by the centres and experience financial burdens afterwards.