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IntroductionLaparoscopic donor nephrectomy is the gold standard for kidney retrieval in live donors. Until recently,donor nephrectomies were performed only by open technique in Nepal. There is no information on theexperience and outcomes of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in Nepal. The study was done to comparethe outcomes among donors undergoing open and laparoscopic nephrectomies, and to compare the graft related outcomes between the two groups receiving these kidneys.MethodsIn this retrospective study, 44 kidney donors from March 2019 to October 2019 were analyzed. Donors were divided into 2 groups: open donor nephrectomy (ODN) and laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN).Parameters for analysis included demographic data, warm ischemia time, surgery time and length ofhospital stay. Data on early graft function and complications in recipients till 30th post-operative day were compared.ResultsThere were 22 donors each in the ODN and LDN groups. Baseline characteristics of the donors were comparable between two groups. Mean surgery duration (183.55±43.31 minutes vs 117.73±18.75 minutes) and first warm ischemia time (11.22±4.34 minutes vs 2.3±0.8 minutes) was significantly high in LDN. Hemoglobin drop, post-operative complications in donors, creatinine of donors at discharge, mean hospital stay, graft function at one month and complications in recipients were comparable among ODN and LDN. Pain score in 1st post-operative day was comparable between two groups, however, pain was significantly less in second post-operative day in LDN.ConclusionLaparoscopic donor nephrectomy is feasible in Nepal and associated with acceptable morbidity and graft function when compared to ODN.Keywords: Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, open donor nephrectomy, renal transplantation

A successful renal transplantation service was started in Nepal at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in August 2008, and a continuing regular service is being provided currently to needy people. We report here our experience in thirty five end stage renal disease patients who received kidneys from close relatives during a one year period. The mean age of donors was 46.7 years. Seventeen (49%) donations were from parents, 13 (37%) from spouses, four (11%) between siblings and one (3%) between mother and daughter in law. Although the left kidney was given preference, right sided donor nephrectomy was needed in five (14%) cases. Six (17%) donors had minor postoperative problems. The mean age of recipients was 33.2 years, four (11%) of whom had pre-emptive renal transplantation. Recipients were immunosuppressed with dacluzimab, prednisolone, mycophenalate, and cyclosporine or tacrolimus. The average time taken for graft implantation was 137 minutes. The mean cold ischemia time and second warm ischemia time were 133 and 36 minutes respectively. Four (11%) patients developed urinary tract infection, three (9%) had significant hematuria, one (3%) developed a peri-transplant abscess, and one (3%) had ureteric ischemia and urine leak which required re-exploration in the early post-operative period. Four patients (11%) developed acute rejection of which three were cell-mediated rejection and one was antibody-mediated. There were two (6%) deaths, one due to transplant-related sepsis and the other due to subarachnoid hemorrhage following rupture of a posterior communicating artery aneurysm. No kidney has been lost otherwise.