Donor Safety, Risks, and Complications in Solid-Organ Transplant

We conducted a literature search on the status of living donors, donor health, and risks of donations in living liver, kidney, pancreas, lung, and small intestine donors. The literature search was made using the PubMed database and the following key words: living donor, transplantation, liver, kidney, lung, pancreas, and small intestine. We found that living donors have a generally favorable outcome; however, follow-up should not be limited to 2 years since some com-plications may be seen in later years. Systems should be developed for early detection of problems, and future research should be directed to nonhuman sources for the treatment of end-stage solid-organ diseases.