Lebendnierenspende

Kidney transplantation is the best form of renal replacement therapy for patients with end-stage renal disease. With low figures in postmortem organ donations for many years, the number of living donations has also decreased in Germany. Previous studies have shown an expected decline in kidney function in the donor population after donor nephrectomy; however, there are also a few donors who experience a reduction in the quality of life after living donation. In some cases there are symptoms of fatigue after living donation that are still poorly understood. Special attention must be paid to this group. The most important instrument for reducing long-term complications is the careful selection of donors through comprehensive physical and psychosocial examinations. Close follow-up care by specialists is also required in the further course of the process in order to promptly recognize complications and to be able to intervene. Both the physical and psychosocial risk profile for living donors in Germany must be assessed in the future and the gap in the missing long-term data after living donation must be closed. One step towards this is the establishment of the German living donor register.