Women donate, men receive: gender disparity among renal donors

In living donor kidney transplantation, a predominance of female-to-male donations has been observed. This gender disparity is more so in developing countries and requires targeted counseling and research to understand whether the cause is medical or sociocultural obstacles. The aim of this study was to analyze all living donor kidney transplants performed at a tertiary care center catering to patients of varied socioeconomic backgrounds. This was a retrospective cohort study of all 600 kidney donors who underwent donor nephrectomy at a single transplant center, Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, Jaipur, between 2013 and November 2018. Patient characteristics including gender, age, and relationship between donors and recipients were obtained. There was a significant increase in the amount of voluntary renal donations, almost doubling every year. Majority (78%) of the donors were females, whereas males contributed to 22% of renal donations. We observed that mothers were the highest number of donors accounting for 181 donations (n = 600), followed by wives who contributed to 102 of the renal donors (n = 600), and 98 (16.3%) fathers donated to their children. Fifteen percent of the donors donated kidney to their siblings. We found gender disparity in living donor kidney transplant in a single center that caters to a population of varied cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. We anticipate these results will guide clinicians and living donor coordinators and lead to appropriate counseling for patients and potential donors.