Utilization of HbA1c in Screening Living Kidney Donors With Prediabetes

To study the outcome of living kidney donors with prediabetes and to evaluate the utilization of baseline HbA1c to identify donors at high risk for developing diabetes during the postdonation follow-up period.

Living kidney donors with prospectively collected preoperative fasting glucose and HbA1c results were included in the study. Donors were categorized to the high-risk group when both results were in the prediabetic range, the low-risk group when only 1 result was in the prediabetic range, and the control group when both results were normal.

Ninety-three donors were followed for 75.9 ± 23.3 months. A higher proportion of donors in the high-risk group progressed to diabetes compared with donors in the low-risk and control groups (31.3% vs 6.5% vs 0.0%, respectively; P < .001). Donors with prediabetes were not at a higher risk for new-onset hypertension (4.4% vs 10.0% vs 7.7%, in control, low-risk, and high-risk groups, respectively; P = .519) or microproteinuria (7.3% vs 10.3% vs 0.0%, in control, low-risk, and high-risk groups, respectively; P = .478) and exhibited equivalent postdonation renal function compared with donors with normal glucose metabolism.

HbA1c can identify donors with prediabetes who are at risk for progression to diabetes. Our results indicate that carefully accepted donors with prediabetes are not at increased risk of renal function deterioration in the immediate postdonation period.