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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Donating a kidney doesn't take a toll on self-esteem. A 5-year study of nearly 1,000 living kidney donors found that over 95% maintained normal-to-high self-esteem throughout follow-up. Donors who started with lower self-esteem actually saw modest improvements post-donation, and those gains were linked to reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms.
A large prospective study offers reassuring news for living kidney donors and transplant teams alike. Researchers tracked 941 living kidney donors across 17 Canadian and Australian transplant centers for up to 5 years and found that the vast majority maintained normal-to-high self-esteem throughout — with only 2%–4% reporting low self-esteem at any given point.
On average, self-esteem scores barely budged after donation. While a small statistical dip was detected, it wasn't considered clinically meaningful. Notably, donors who started with lower self-esteem experienced a modest boost post-donation, and improvements in self-esteem were tied to concurrent reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms.
By the Numbers:
95% maintained normal-to-high self-esteem throughout 5 years of follow-up
Why it matters: These findings offer reassurance to both donors and transplant teams — living kidney donation appears to have minimal psychological impact on self-esteem, even for those who may be more vulnerable going in. This supports the broader case for living donation as a safe and psychologically sound option.
