Reassuring results with regard to the effect of donor nephrectomy on cardiovascular outcomes

Abstract

This article discusses the conclusions of a retrospective cohort study reported by Garg et al. on behalf of the Donor Nephrectomy Outcomes Research (DONOR) Network. This study compared the incidence of cardiovascular events in a cohort of kidney donors with that in a matched control population, to establish whether living kidney donation is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Garg et al. found that living kidney donors had a very low risk of death or cardiovascular events that was not significantly different to that of the control population (2.0 vs 2.7 events per 1,000 person-years; hazard ratio 0.7, 95% CI 0.4–1.2). During follow-up, hypertension was diagnosed more frequently among donors than controls, but this finding might reflect the close monitoring of donors. Although the study provides reassuring information for counseling potential kidney donors, the sample of patients was not sufficiently large to resolve uncertainties over the influence of reduced kidney function on the risk of cardiovascular disease.