Health care follow-up by live kidney donors more than three yr post-nephrectomy

Live kidney donors are advised to follow up regularly with healthcare providers to monitor kidney function and to diagnose and treat relevant comorbidities. We sought to determine the frequency and correlates of follow-up care among live kidney donors.

We sent a mailed questionnaire to 606 live kidney donors from a single center who were at least three yr post-nephrectomy.

We received usable responses from 276 (45.5%), at a median of 6.2 yr post-donation. Compared with non-responders, responding donors were more likely to be older (p < 0.001), female (p = 0.002), white (p < 0.001), and married to the recipient (p < 0.001). In the prior year, 87.7% of respondents reported seeing a physician or other healthcare professional, and 79.0% had seen a "general doctor" such as their primary care provider. In univariable analyses of live kidney donors who responded to our survey, lack of medical follow-up in the past year was associated with younger age, current lack of health insurance, and infrequent contact with the transplant recipient.

Most responding live kidney donors had seen a healthcare provider within the past year. To improve donors' follow-up, transplant centers can consider targeting donors who are younger or lack health insurance.