• UCLA Health
  • myUCLAHealth
  • School of Medicine
Kidney Transplant

Kidney Transplant

Kidney Transplant
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Expert Team
    • News and Events
    • How You Can Help
  • Adult Kidney Transplant
  • Pediatric Kidney Transplant
    • Transition to Adult Care
    • Pediatric FAQs
  • Living Donor Kidney Transplant
    • How to Become a Kidney Donor
    • Immunosuppression Free “Tolerance” Protocol
    • Incompatible Blood Type Kidney Transplant
    • Kidney Exchange Program
  • For Patients
    • COVID-19 Kidney Transplant Patient Guide
    • Preparing for Transplant
    • Request an Appointment
    • Forms for New Patients
    • Maps / Directions
    • FAQs
    • myUCLAhealth
    • Education & Resources
    • Patient Stories
  • For Physicians
    • Refer a Patient
  • Contact Us
  • UCLA Health
  • myUCLAHealth
  • School of Medicine

Kidney Transplant

Living Donor Kidney Transplant

Living Donor Kidney Transplant

Living Donor Kidney Transplant

  • How to Become a Kidney Donor
    • Evaluation Process
    • Future Consequences of Donation
    • Surgical Techniques
    • Hospital Stay
    • Pre and Post-Op Instructions
    • Living With One Kidney
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Immunosuppression Free “Tolerance” Protocol
  • Incompatible Blood Type Kidney Transplant
  • Kidney Exchange Program
  • How to Become a Kidney Donor
  • Immunosuppression Free “Tolerance” Protocol
  • Incompatible Blood Type Kidney Transplant
  • Kidney Exchange Program
  • Evaluation Process
  • Future Consequences of Donation
  • Surgical Techniques
  • Hospital Stay
  • Pre and Post-Op Instructions
  • Living With One Kidney
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  1. Home
  2. Kidney Transplant
  3. Living Donor Kidney Transplant
  4. How to Become a Kidney Donor
  5. Future Consequences of Donation

Future Consequences of Donation

Share this

Before donating an organ, serious thought should be given to the future consequences of a donor’s overall health and welfare.  Studies do not indicate a significant long-term risk to the donor.  Still, donation should not be taken lightly. There may be a slightly higher risk of developing high blood pressure.  This usually occurs in donors over 55 years of age at the time of donation.  There is also a very small risk of developing kidney failure.  This is usually related to the development of kidney disease that was not present or anticipated at the time of the donation and not directly related to the kidney donation itself. 

Many women have had normal pregnancies following donation and there is minimal risk to the mother and the baby. Additional monitoring may be advised by the OB/GYN physician. 

 

Effect on your future health

If you donate a kidney, hospital staff must tell you about how living kidney donation relates to ongoing or chronic kidney disease and kidney failure. Your Independent Living Donor Advocate as well as the living donor nephrologist should help you understand these terms.

If you are thinking about donating a kidney, you should know that:

  • On average, you will permanently lose 25-35% of your kidney function after donating.
  • Your risk of having kidney failure later in your life is not any higher that it is for someone in the general population of a similar age, sex or race. However, you are more likely to have kidney failure than healthy people who are not donors.
  • Chronic kidney disease most often starts in the middle of your life (40-50 years old). Kidney failure most often starts after age 60. If you get tested when you are young, doctors cannot predict how likely you are to have chronic kidney disease or kidney failure later in life.
  • If you damage your other kidney (the one you did not donate), you may have a higher chance of having chronic kidney disease, which could go on to become kidney failure.
  • You will need medical treatment if you start to have kidney failure.

Current policy gives living donors priority on the national waiting list if they need to get a kidney transplant in the future. You can ask your Independent Living Donor Advocate or /Living Donor Coordinators about this policy.

Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest
UCLA Health hospitals ranked best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report
  • UCLA Health
  • Find a Doctor
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • UCLA Campus
  • Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Subscribe
  • Patient Stories
  • Giving
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • International Services
  • Privacy Practices
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Billing
  • Health Plans
  • Emergency
  • Report Broken Links
  • Terms of Use
  • 1-310-825-2631
  • Maps & Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Your Feedback
  • Report Misconduct
  • Get Social
  • Sitemap
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest

Sign in to myUCLAhealth

Learn more about myUCLAhealth