Prospective studies on living kidney donors' quality of life (QoL) are still rare. Most existing studies compare healthy donors with the general population, including subjects with diseases. This is the first prospective study comparing living donors' QoL with reference data of both the general population and healthy individuals. We investigated QoL, anxiety, and depression in living kidney donors (n = 79) before donation and at two post-operative data points (three months and one yr). Subsequently, data from the donors were compared with the reference data. Our results show an impaired physical QoL three months post-donation. One yr after surgery, physical QoL had returned to the pre-operative level. Neither mental QoL nor anxiety or depression showed major changes across time. Pre-operative QoL was comparable to that of healthy individuals and higher than that in the general population. Donors' perception of the recipient's health showed moderate correlations with donors' mental outcome three months after donation. In conclusion, the impact on physical QoL seems to persist for at least three months after kidney donation. It could be demonstrated that in the context of living donation, healthy individuals provide more adequate reference data. Future research needs to determine the length and the nature of the post-operative QoL impairment and further explore possible influencing factors.
