Blood Transfusion Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Blood Transfusion, including details on blood donation, blood types, leukemia.

Living related donor nephrectomy in transfusion refusing donors.

Mateo R, Henderson R, Jabbour N, Gagandeep S, Goldsberry A, Sher L, Qazi Y, Selby RR, Genyk Y

Division of Hepatobiliary/Pancreatic Surgery and Abdominal Organ Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Keck-USC School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. rod.mateo.usc@tenethealth.com

Many transplant programs are averse to evaluate potential kidney donors with preferences against accepting human blood products. We examined the donor and graft outcomes between our transfusion-consenting (TC) and transfusion-refusing (TR) live kidney donors to determine whether a functional or survival disadvantage resulted from the disallowance of blood product transfusion during live donor (LD) nephrectomy. From July, 1999 to August, 2005, 82 live donor nephrectomies were performed, eight of who were TR donors (10%). Blood conservation techniques were utilized in TR donors. Demographics, surgical and functional outcomes, admission and discharge hematocrit, and creatinine were compared between TC and TR donors. No donor mortalities occurred. Two TC donors received blood transfusions (2.7%), and each study group experienced a single, <1-year graft loss. Intra-operative blood losses were significantly less in TR donors (298 +/- 412 vs. 121 +/- 91 ml, P < 0.03). No differences were noted between donor demographics, intra-operative events, and graft and patient survival. Successful donor nephrectomy from TR patients has the potential to expand the kidney allograft pool to include the TR donor population. Precautionary blood conservation methods allow the informed and consenting TR individual to donate a kidney with acceptable risk and without compromise to donor or graft outcomes.

Published 11 May 2007 in Transpl Int, 20(6): 490-6.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Blood Transfusion Research Today. All Rights Reserved.