How Safe is Kidney Donation Surgery?

Becoming a living kidney donor can significantly improve or even save the life of someone in need of a kidney transplant. Understandably, potential donors may wonder how safe a kidney removal operation is. While every surgery carries some risk, kidney donation is generally a very low-risk procedure with careful protocols in place to protect donors. Here’s what you need to know about the safety of kidney donation surgery.

Types of Kidney Donation Surgery

There are two types of kidney donation surgery (nephrectomy) procedures to remove the kidney from the donor: laparoscopic surgery and non-laparoscopic or “open” surgery.

The vast majority of kidney donation surgeries use laparoscopic kidney removal, a minimally invasive type of nephrectomy. In laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, small incisions are made in the abdomen and specialized instruments are used to remove the kidney, with a special camera providing visibility for the surgeon.

This type of nephrectomy was introduced in the 1990s and is now the standard of care in the United States. Kidney removal with laparoscopic surgery typically results in a shorter hospital stay, less pain and scarring, faster recovery time, and fewer postoperative complications.

In rare cases where laparoscopic surgery is not possible or safe, open surgery may be performed, which involves a larger incision and generally requires a longer recovery time.

Complications from Kidney Donation Surgery

A study by the Mayo Clinic found that the risk of major complications for living kidney donors is minimal. The study tracked complications that occurred up to 120 days after surgery.

Of the 3,002 living kidney donors who underwent laparoscopic kidney donor surgery at the Mayo Clinic transplant center from 2000 to 2019, 12.4% had minor post-surgical complications. Just 2.5% of patients in the study experienced major complications, and all made a complete recovery.

The most frequent types of complications are gastrointestinal issues like constipation and/or diarrhea, which occur in 4.4% of cases, bleeding (3% of cases), respiratory issues (2.5%), and surgical or anesthesia-related injuries (2.4%).

Mortality Risk

Death is always a risk for any type of surgery, but a new study found that improvements in surgical technology and other advancements have reduced the kidney transplant surgery mortality rate for kidney donor surgery to .009%—meaning that for every 10,000 living donor surgeries, only 0.9 may experience a fatal outcome.

This mortality rate is significantly lower than other common types of surgery such as appendectomy (0.28% mortality rate) and gallbladder removal (0.4% mortality rate). It’s also significantly safer than more common medical events, like childbirth.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 2022 maternal mortality rate in the United States was .223%, indicating that in the United States, it is about 25 times riskier to give birth than to donate a kidney.

If you have questions about kidney donation surgery, visit the National Kidney Registry website or consult your doctor.