Living kidney donors may run blood pressure risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Healthy adults who donate a kidney have an increased likelihood of seeing a rise in blood pressure within 5 to 10 years, the results of an analysis suggest.

Making a decision to transplant a kidney from a living donor involves weighing possible harm to the donor, and whether this is "outweighed by the psychological benefits of altruism and improved recipient health," Dr. Amit X. Garg and associates note in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

While the short-term risks of kidney donation are well established, long-term effects on blood pressure are unknown. Garg, from the London Health Sciences Centre in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues therefore reviewed studies on the topic. They identified 48 studies, from 28 countries, in which 5145 donors were followed for periods ranging from 6 to 13 years.

At the time of surgery, the donors' average blood pressure was 121 over 77. The pooled data showed that approximately 10 years after the transplant surgery, donors had an average increase in the top number of 6 points and in the lower number of 4 points.

Donors who were older than 60, male and higher than ideal body weight were more likely to develop high blood pressure.

Garg's team advises transplant physicians to "counsel and follow all donors, regardless of their pre-donation health state, to manage risk factors in an attempt to prevent hypertension and future cardiovascular disease."

SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine, August 1, 2006.