Key words: Complications, Hypertension, Perioperative
IntroductionKidney transplant is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Compared with long-term dialysis, kidney transplant procedures are cost-effective, offer improved quality of life, and confer a progressive survival benefit. 1,2 While the ESRD population continues to grow, the supply of kidneys for transplant from deceased donors is unlikely to increase significantly, resulting in a large gap between the demand for donor kidneys and supply. 3,4 Fortunately, living kidney donation has become an attractive alternative to transplants with deceased donations. With the advent of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and constantly improving recipient outcomes, the number of living kidney donations has grown by 115% over the past decade. 5 From a recipient standpoint, living-donor transplant is regarded as superior to deceased-donor transplant in every respect. Living-donor transplant allows for a full donor evaluation before transplant, elective scheduling of surgery at the time of optimized recipient health, and a minimum graft ischemic time during the transplant operation. 6 The major downside of living-donor renal transplant is that it subjects a healthy person to unnecessary surgery, with its attendant risks and a life after surgery with reduced renal mass. Fortunately, donor nephrectomy is a relatively safe procedure. The risk of donor death is most commonly cited as 0.03%, the risk of major complications is from 0.23% to 2.1%, and the risk of minor complications is from 8.0% to 14.7%. 7,8 The aim of the present study was to evaluate the short-and long-term outcomes of living-related kidney donors in terms of biochemical parameters and postnephrectomy complications at a single center in Pakistan.