Financial Burden Borne by Laparoscopic Living Kidney Donors.

Background: Living kidney donors have donation-related out-of-pocket costs (direct costs) and/or ongoing daily expenses while losing income (indirect costs). Yet there is little information about how much of a subjective burden these constitute for the donors.

Methods: From December 2003 through December 2014, we surveyed donors 6 months postdonation to determine their financial burden related to donation (on a scale of 1 to 10) and what resources were used to cover expenses.

Emotional and Financial Experiences of Kidney Donors over the Past 50 Years: The RELIVE Study.

Background And Objectives: Most kidney donors view their experience positively, but some may experience psychosocial and financial burdens. We hypothesized that certain donor characteristics, poor outcome of the recipient, negative perceptions of care, and lack of support may be associated with poor psychosocial outcomes for donors.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: The Renal and Lung Living Donors Evaluation Study (RELIVE) examined long-term medical and psychosocial outcomes for kidney donors (at three U.

Psychosocial and socioeconomic issues facing the living kidney donor.

At the 2010 Conference on Living Kidney Donor follow-up, a workgroup was convened to comment on the state of the evidence in 4 broad areas: (a) health-related quality of life postdonation; (b) donors' financial and economic concerns; (c) outcomes issues specific to newer areas of donation, namely, kidney exchange and anonymous (directed and nondirected) donation; and (d) the role of informed consent in relation to postdonation psychosocial outcomes. The workgroup sought to offer recommendations regarding research priorities for the next decade and data collection strategies to accomplish the needed research. The workgroup concluded that there has been little consideration of the nature or predictors of any long-term psychosocial outcomes in living donors.

The beauty of the gift: the wonder of living organ donation.

In a recent opinion piece, Nancy Scheper-Hughes provides a sweeping indictment of living organ donation, even in cases where the gift is directed to a close family member. She describes the process with caustic powerful phrases such as "sacrificial violence" and a "call to 'self-sacrifice.'" She concludes that living organ donation "should be consigned to a back seat as an exceptional back-up to deceased donation.

Evolution of a nondirected kidney donor program: lessons learned.

From October 1, 1997 through November 30, 2003, the University of Minnesota received 362 inquiries from potential NDDs. Of these, 53 (15%) then underwent partial or full donor evaluation at our transplant center. Of these 53 potential NDDs, 24 have been accepted (23 donated, and one donation is pending), 23 were denied (15 for medical reasons, 8 for psychosocial reasons), and 6 chose not to pursue donation.

Twenty-two nondirected kidney donors: an update on a single center's experience.

At the University of Minnesota, we have defined 'nondirected donation' as organ donation by a volunteer who offered to donate an organ to anyone on the cadaver waiting list. From October 1, 1997, through October 31, 2003, we have had 360 inquiries about nondirected donation, have completed 42 detailed nondirected donor (NDD) evaluations for kidney donation, and have performed 22 NDD transplants. We herein review our program policies and how they have evolved, describe our evaluation and the motivation of our potential donors, summarize the outcome of NDD transplants, and raise issues requiring further attention and study.

The nondirected live-kidney donor: ethical considerations and practice guidelines: A National Conference Report.

Background: The success of kidney transplantation from a genetically unrelated living spouse or friend has influenced transplant physicians to consider the requests of individuals wishing to volunteer to be a kidney donor who have no intended recipient specified. Representatives of the transplant community gathered in Boston, MA, on May 31, 2001, to deliberate on the experience of live kidney donation from such volunteers, currently termed nondirected donors (NDD).

Objective Of Conference Participants: The objective of the conference was to recommend ethical and practice guidelines for health care professionals considering the transplantation of a kidney from a live NDD.