[Follow-up care of living kidney donors]

The follow-up of living kidney donors demands medical as well as psychological competence. In the postoperative period, attention focuses on pain management, early detection of wound complications and the prophylaxis of thromboembolism. Regular visits of the donor who may easily feel neglected should be as much part of the transplant team's post-operative routine as visits of the recipient. The later phase of recovery emphasizes strengthening abdominal wall and lumbar muscles as well as the gradual increase of physical activity. Long-term follow-up focuses on the early detection of arterial hypertension and proteinuria. Antihypertensive therapy in nephrectomized donors should include an ACE inhibitor or an angiotensin-II antagonist. In Switzerland, the long-term course after living donation is prospectively monitored by the Swiss Registry for Living Donors founded in 1993. The registry is responsible for the regular timing of follow-up examinations and assures transparency of the origin of the kidneys used for living donation in Switzerland. The registry heavily relies on the collaboration of the donor's family physicians.