Psycho-Social Health and Quality of Life Among Living Kidney Donors: A Study From a Tertiary Care Center in South India

Abstract Rationale & Objectives Although kidney donation has been deemed a safe procedure with low mortality and morbidity, the impact of organ donation on the long-term quality of life (QOL) is not known in our population. We aimed to compare the QOL between age and gender matched living kidney donors and healthy nondonors and to estimate the prevalence of anxiety, depression and regret among kidney donors. Study Design Questionnaire-based observational study Setting & Participants Adult living kidney donors aged 18 years or older who donated between 2020 and 2024 at a tertiary care centre in South India. Predictors We analyzed the effects of baseline clinical, sociodemographic factors, postoperative complications, long-term comorbidities, recipient and donor renal function on the psychosocial health of living kidney donors. Outcomes The prevalence of QOL, anxiety and depression was determined using the SF-36(36-Item Short Form Health Survey), General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), respectively. Results Of the 69 included living kidney donors, 57 (82.6%) were female. Post-donation anxiety and depression were seen in 7(10.1%) donors and 3(4.3%) donors, respectively. The SF-36 Mental Component Summary and Physical Component Summary scores of donors were not statistically different from those of age- and sex-matched healthy donors (46.84±8.72; 46.42±9.25 vs 48.48±7.52; 47.24±12.02; p=0.24; p=0.66). Further age stratification revealed that donors over 50 years performed poorly in various domains of the SF-36 compared to younger donors. The donors who developed medical comorbidities, surgical complications, or deconditioning limiting physical activity post-donation were not keen to recommend others to donate. Limitations The study was conducted at a single center with a relatively small sample size. Conclusions The QOL of kidney donors was comparable to that of healthy non-donors except for a subgroup of donors over 50 years who had worse QOL parameters in certain domains compared to younger donors. Overall, living kidney donors reported a positive donation experience, with low rates of regret.