Organ donation from a living donor

One of the resources available for patient transplantation is organ donation from a living donor. It should be noted that unlike the method of organ donation from a brain-dead donor that can be used from multiple deceased organs, the use of a living donor organ donation is limited to the kidney, part of the liver or lung. Organ donation from a living donor is associated with its own ethical principles and issues.
A donor is a healthy person who benefits from donation other than psychological or spiritual gain. In our country, in order to appreciate a living kidney donor, an amount is paid to him, which we will not discuss in this article.
Because the organ donor has set out to help the other person, it is important to maintain their health and safety in the process. The donor can be relatives or friends or a stranger. In our country and in the world, there are special criteria for evaluating a person who wants to donate his organ. This person undergoes special physical and psychological examinations. The person must be completely medically healthy. The live review team should be independent of the transplant team so that no harm is done to the individual in the process. The organ donor must also be carefully evaluated psychologically to ensure that he or she is willing to donate the organ with full knowledge and without external pressure.
An individual’s assessment varies greatly depending on which organ he or she donates. In any case, each organ donation has its own issues and risks. The review team should explain all of these issues clearly to the individual. The volunteer must also make this decision with full knowledge of the potential risks. Physicians should also ensure that the volunteer is aware of the potential risks and decides to donate an organ.
In the case of kidney donation, the risk is very small but not zero. It should be noted that a person who donates his / her kidney is not at higher risk of kidney disease, hypertension or diabetes compared to other people in the community and will have a normal life expectancy. In the case of women who donate their kidneys, it has been shown that these women will experience more complications in future pregnancies. The candidate must make a decision with full knowledge of these issues. The risk of death from kidney donation is very, very low.
In the case of donation of part of the limb or lung, the risk of donation is higher because the removal of part of these organs from the whole organ requires more complex surgery. Once the medical team has confirmed the eligibility for the donation, the organ must be matched to a disease that requires a blood type transplant and a tissue matched. There are usually two surgical teams, one for the donor and the other for the recipient. Coordination between the two teams is very important, as long as the limb is out of body and has no blood supply. For this reason, the success rate of a live donor transplant is very high. And this is one of the important issues that makes a person satisfied.

After organ donation, the individual is carefully evaluated at the hospital by the medical team for recovery. The length of hospital stay for kidney donation is usually 3 to 4 days, but for liver and lungs it is longer. The recovery period after donation is at least 4-6 weeks, which may be longer for the liver and lungs.
After the donation, the donor must continue to be evaluated regularly by the medical team. It is recommended that these evaluations last at least 2 years. After 2 years, in case of any problems, the donor should refer to his medical team. Complications of kidney donation surgery are usually minor, but sometimes infection of wounds or hernias at the incision site can be seen. There are more complications in the liver and lungs, but fortunately, many of them can be successfully treated if diagnosed quickly and in a timely manner.

Dr. Reza Saidi Firoozabadi – Transplant surgeon