Long-Term Outcomes for Living Kidney Donors With Early Guideline-Concordant Follow-up Care: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Current guidelines recommend that living kidney donors receive lifelong annual follow-up care to monitor kidney health. In the United States, the reporting of complete clinical and laboratory data for kidney donors has been mandated for the first 2 years post-donation; however, the long-term impact of early guideline-concordant care remains unclear.

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to compare long-term post-donation follow-up care and clinical outcomes of living kidney donors with and without early guideline-concordant follow-up care.

Design: Retrospective, population-based cohort study.

Setting: Linked health care databases were used to identify kidney donors in Alberta, Canada.

Patients: Four hundred sixty living kidney donors who underwent nephrectomy between 2002 and 2013.

Measurements: The primary outcome was continued annual follow-up at 5 and 10 years (adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval, aOR). Secondary outcomes included mean change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) over time and rates of all-cause hospitalization.

Methods: We compared long-term follow-up and clinical outcomes for donors with and without early guideline-concordant care, defined as annual physician visit and serum creatinine and albuminuria measurement for the first 2 years post-donation.

Results: Of the 460 donors included in this study, 187 (41%) had clinical and laboratory evidence of guideline-concordant follow-up care throughout the first 2 years post-donation. The odds of receiving annual follow-up for donors without early guideline-concordant care were 76% lower at 5 years (aOR 0.24) and 68% lower at 10 years (aOR 0.32) compared with donors with early care. The odds of continuing follow-up remained stable over time for both groups. Early guideline-concordant follow-up care did not appear to substantially influence eGFR or hospitalization rates over the longer term.

Limitations: We were unable to confirm whether the lack of physician visits or laboratory data in certain donors was due to physician or patient decisions.

Conclusions: Although policies directed toward improving early donor follow-up may encourage continued follow-up, additional strategies may be necessary to mitigate long-term donor risks.