W. Summers1, C. R. Baxter1, B. Shelton1, R. Reed1, P. MacLennan1, J. McLeod1, C. Carroll1, J. Locke1 1University Of Alabama,Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Introduction: Live kidney donors are encouraged to regularly follow up with their primary care physician (PCP) to monitor kidney function and comorbid disease development. The impact of kidney donation on PCP visits and health insurance is unknown. The goal of this study was to explore post-donation trends in health insurance, PCP visits, and comorbid disease development.
Methods: Living kidney donors who are part of a multi-center, IRB-approved, cohort study were contacted and distributed a questionnaire designed to assess access to healthcare (defined as number of PCP visits per year and health insurance coverage). Medical records were also reviewed to evaluate development of post-donation comorbid disease (e.g. hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease). We used descriptive statistics to examine trends in access to healthcare pre and post-donation.
Results: 59 adult living kidney donors were studied; median age of 43.3 years (IQR: 38.9-56.7); 54 European American and 5 African American; with median follow-up of 6.6 years (IQR: 4.3-29.2). 19 donors (32.2%) developed post-donation comorbid disease. We observed a 10.2% increase in health insurance coverage from 86.4% before to 96.6% after donation. Although 6.9% of our cohort reported having trouble obtaining new health insurance after donation, 100% of donors who developed post-donation comorbidities were able to obtain health insurance post-donation. There was also an observed increase in utilization of PCP visits post- compared to pre-donation (84.7% vs. 74.6%), particularly among those donors who developed post-donation comorbidities (100%).
Conclusion: One third of living kidney donors developed comorbid disease post-donation. Development of post-donation comorbidities did not negatively impact access to healthcare. In fact, access to healthcare as measured by PCP visits and health insurance increased after living kidney donation.