Recovering after donating a kidney

Leaving hospital and your post donation aftercare.

During your time in hospital after donating a kidney, you will meet a range of healthcare professionals who will advise you on your short and long term follow up.

Please ensure you have discussed the points covered on this page with your team before you leave hospital.

It is very important that you make a safe and full recovery from your surgery.

Before you leave hospital

A mother smiling at her young daughter from her hospital bed

Before you leave hospital, make sure you have discussed:

Pain management and medication
Wound management and dressings
Thrombo-embolism prophylaxis (reducing risk of blood clots)
Constipation/bloating/diet
Exercise and rehabilitation
In-patient medical certificate
Letter for General Practitioner
Someone to take you home and stay with you
Follow up appointment

When you return home

We always recommend having someone stay with you for the first few days you are home.

Your family and friends are your second pair of eyes and ears so please listen to them if they are concerned about you.

Make sure you know how to contact your team or the appropriate emergency services.

We must be aware if you have:

High temperature or fever
Nausea or vomiting
New pain in your tummy or lower back
Ooze or redness around any of your wounds or if they are hot to touch
Discomfort or burning when passing urine or cloudy or smelly urine

If you have anything else that is concerning you or that you are unsure about, please speak to us.

Aftercare

You will usually be seen for a surgical review within four to eight weeks of your operation.

All living kidney donors are offered lifelong follow up. This is an annual appointment, either at the hospital, with your GP or virtual.

Please discuss with your transplant team and/or local unit to find out which follow up arrangements are available for you.

Kidney function

After donation, your estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) - an estimate of how well the kidneys are filtering out waste products from the blood - will be lower than it was before donation. The level of creatinine - a waste product - in your blood may also be higher. This is a normal result of having one kidney do the work of two, and your remaining kidney should still be perfectly healthy.

For more information about kidney function tests, please download our kidney function tests factsheet

Taking care of yourself after your donation

Driving

Exercise

It's important to find a balance between rest and exercise.

It's a good idea to go on a walk every day if you feel up to it. You will usually be back to normal activity within four to six weeks.

You should avoid vigorous exercise and heavy lifting for eight to 12 weeks.

Be guided by your stamina and any symptoms (for example, any wound discomfort) when choosing the type and duration of exercise.

Please make sure you also have plenty of rest.

Air travel

When you fly, the risk of developing a deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot) is increased.

For this reason, you are advised to wait for at least 2 weeks for a short haul flight and longer for a long haul flight.

Before you fly, it must be safe for you to do so. You need to be signed off by your surgeon and ensure that all your follow-up tests are satisfactory.

Speak to your unit about extra precautions (e.g. surgical stockings and any medications) you might need to reduce the risk of blood clots.

Sex, contraception and pregnancy

You may resume your usual sexual activity when you feel comfortable to do so and are no longer experiencing any pain.

It is not advisable for women to get pregnant from 6 to 12 months after the operation so you must use contraception.

You may have been advised to stop taking the contraceptive pill prior to donation so speak to your GP about when is a suitable time to resume the pill.

Psychological support

Recognising your generous gift

The living donor pin badge

In recognition of your gift of living donation you will receive a specially designed silver pin badge from NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), which will be sent to you at home after your donation.

It may take a few weeks for your donation to be registered with NHSBT so please allow time for your pin to arrive.

If you do not want to participate in this recognition scheme you can opt out by speaking to your living donor coordinator before you leave hospital so that your wishes are recorded.

The UK Living Donor Registry and your data

To help inform people who are considering becoming a living donor, NHS Blood and Transplant holds a UK-wide registry of all living donors.

Follow-up data, including
questions about your self-reported outcome (Donor Reported Outcome Measure, or DROM) and experience (Donor Reported Experience Measure, or DREM) as a living donor are collected in this important Registry.

All data is anonymised when reported. This data provides good information about long term donor health, kidney function and donor experience. Your contribution is much appreciated.

Speak with your local living donor team if you have any concerns about data collection or how your data is used.

Please contact your local living donor team at any point in the future if you develop a significant health condition.

Help promote living donation

Order or download a range of materials, including faith-specific leaflets.

Find something to share

Can’t find what you’re looking for?

For general enquiries

Email: enquiries@nhsbt.nhs.uk

Or call: 0300 123 23 23