Long-term – i.e. years after donation. Obviously giving a kidney does not exempt you
from developing other medical problems that you would have developed in any case.
There is a very strong link between blood pressure and the kidney, so if you have just one
kidney it is important to have good or very good, not just average blood pressure. Doctors would
prefer to start blood pressure lowering tablets earlier rather than later in someone with only
one kidney. If the blood pressure is well controlled then it will not have any detrimental effect
on kidney function in the long term.
Kidney function
Your kidney blood tests will not be as good after you have given a kidney as they were before. However provided the results are stable, there is no protein leak in the urine, and your blood pressure is good this is not of concern. Although another doctor may tell you that you have chronic kidney disease, this is based on the assumption that you have two kidneys – and to have this level of function with two kidneys means there must be something wrong with them.
Remember, if you have donated that the consultant knows that you have a good kidney (or they wouldn’t have gone ahead with the operation) and your kidney blood tests are worse, not because there is a problem with your kidneys, but because you have one rather than two.
After you donate we recommend that you have your blood pressure, urine (to check for
protein), and kidney blood tests checked once a year. Usually this will be organised by the
team in hospital, but it may be arranged together with your local GP.
There are two situations when it would be very helpful to still have a second kidney! The first is if your kidney is injured for example in a road traffic accident. The second is if you develop
cancer in your one kidney. Fortunately both of these scenarios are uncommon – it is likely
that you have heard of someone with breast, or prostrate, or bowel, or lung cancer but quite
probably you haven’t heard of someone with kidney cancer.
If it happened that your single kidney was affected by trauma or cancer than you would have priority on the UK transplant list yourself. GOLD are not aware of anyone who has needed a transplant themselves after donating.
Anything else that will affect one kidney in general, will affect both kidneys. Although
diseases can occur ‘out of the blue’ and cause kidney failure, it really will be unexpected
given that you will have gone through a thorough assessment process before donating.
Nothing is impossible however and in the unlikely event that you did develop a problem with
your kidneys there would obviously be a higher chance that you would need dialysis
treatment sooner than if you still had both kidneys.
Any potential donor must appreciate that the risks associated with donation, in the short,
medium and long-term, are never zero. The assessment process is designed to ensure that
the risks for you are acceptable.