Older Age Predicts Renal Function Decline in Living Donors

SAN FRANCISCO—Older age and higher body mass index at the time of living kidney donation independently predict declines in renal function over time, researchers reported at the 2014 World Transplant Congress.

In an Australian study of a prospective cohort of 357 living kidney donors, researchers found that the mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) declined by 0.57 mL/min/1.73 m² per year with each 1-year increment in age at the time of donation. Each 1 kg/m² increment in BMI at the time of donation was associated with a neab 0.70 mL/min/1.73 m² decrease in eGFR per year over 10-years.

Of the 357 donors, 338, 138, and 48 completed follow-up at 1, 5, and 10 years. The mean eGFR at baseline (pre-donation), 1, 5, and 10 years were 94, 61, 58, and 56 mL/min/1.73 m², respectively. The researchers, from Westmead Hospital in Westmead, New South Wales (NSW), and the University of Sydney, NSW, observed that the decline in eGFR stabilized between 1–5 and 5–10 years after donation, with a median reduction of 0.47 and 0.81 mL/min/1.73 m², respectively.