ABSTRACT
Live donor nephrectomy, with major surgery performed on a healthy person who receives no direct therapeutic benefit, exposes the surgeon to unusual and specific challenges: the benefit accrues to the recipient and the principle of ‘primum non nocere’ remains of utmost importance. It is the duty of the operating surgeon to scrutinize the donor evaluation, making sure that all potential issues have been addressed so that mortality and morbidity can be minimized. It is also incumbent upon the surgeon to inform the donor and to document informed consent, especially if there are any circumstances that might increase the risk for either donor or recipient. The main emphasis of this chapter is on the surgical procedure. However, the issues the surgeon has to consider to minimize risks in the pre-, peri-and the postoperative period will also be addressed.
