Evaluation of clinical status, renal function, and hematopoietic variables after unilateral nephrectomy in canine kidney donors

Objective—To determine clinical status and renal and hematopoietic function after kidney donation and identify risks associated with kidney donation in dogs. Design—Prospective study. Animals—14 dogs that underwent unilateral nephrectomy for kidney donation. Procedures—Records were reviewed retrospectively to collect data regarding prenephrectomy clinicopathologic variables. Dogs were reexamined prospectively at various times after nephrectomy, and pre- and postnephrectomy CBC, serum biochemical analyses, urinalysis, and urine protein-to-urine creatinine ratio were compared. Six dogs had postnephrectomy renal volume determined ultrasonographically, and 4 of those dogs also underwent scintigraphic determination of glomerular filtration rate and renal biopsy. Results—All dogs were clinically normal at the time of reevaluation. There were no significant differences between prenephrectomy and postnephrectomy values for BUN concentration or urine specific gravity. Mean postnephrectomy serum creatinine concentr...