Impact of Kidney Donation on Pregnancy Outcomes: A Retrospective Analysis

Recent data suggest a risk of gestational hypertension, proteinuria and pre-eclampsia among pregnancies after kidney donation.

This retrospective study among females who donated kidneys (1997-2017) at a tertiary renal transplant center in Northern India assessed the maternal and fetal outcomes of their pregnancy. Data of participants were collected using pre-tested semi structured questionnaire.

In total, 925 female kidney donors (1332 pregnancies) in the pre-donation group and 45 females (48 pregnancies) in the post donation period were included. The mean age of first pregnancy, weight (kg) gain, proportion of history of pre-natal check-up, institutional delivery, and history of unrelated donation was statically significant among the post-donation group. The proportion of pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, and post-partum hemorrhage was insignificantly higher among the post-donation group with higher preterm birth with low-birth-weight babies. Proteinuria (P < 0.05) was significantly higher among post donation pregnancies. In multivariate analysis, cesarean delivery and low birth weight (<2500 g) were common among the post-donation pregnancy group.

The study demonstrated no significant risk to maternal outcomes butan increased risk to fetal outcomes in terms of prematurity and low birth weight among the post-donation pregnancy group.