Pregnancy After Living Kidney Donation, With Amit X. Garg, MD, PhD
A new study presented at the American Society of Nephrology indicates that living kidney donors face a slightly higher risk of hypertensive disorders and small for gestational age births during pregnancy. Experts emphasize the need for better donor counseling to manage these risks.
Why it matters
This research provides critical medical data for potential kidney donors of childbearing age, helping them make informed health decisions.
A 3-part video interview covers new Canadian data on hypertensive disorders, small for gestational age births, and donor counseling.
Whether donating a kidney will affect future pregnancies is one of the questions living donor candidates of childbearing age raise most often, and counseling practices still vary across transplant centers.¹
A matched cohort study presented at American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2026 and published simultaneously in JAMA offers new data. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, occurred in 11.9% of donor pregnancies vs 8.3% of matched nondonor pregnancies across 3 Canadian provinces, though more than 88% of donor pregnancies were unaffected.¹,² Small for gestational age (SGA) births were also more common among donors.¹
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in