Improving the Quality of Two Lives by Treating Obesity
<b>Background and Clinical Significance:</b> Kidney transplantation remains the most effective method of renal replacement therapy. Living donor transplantation offers several advantages—reduced cardiovascular risk, better graft survival, and preemptive intervention. However, donor obesi...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-841X/8/2/85 |
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| Summary: | <b>Background and Clinical Significance:</b> Kidney transplantation remains the most effective method of renal replacement therapy. Living donor transplantation offers several advantages—reduced cardiovascular risk, better graft survival, and preemptive intervention. However, donor obesity is a growing concern, as it is usually associated with perioperative and long-term complications, which can affect donor eligibility. Bariatric surgery is a standard recommendation for patients with a BMI over 35 kg/m<sup>2</sup>. There are limited data on the use of pharmacological agents for weight reduction in kidney donors. This case presents a successful conservative treatment with GLP-1 receptor agonist in an obese woman wishing to donate a kidney to her son. <b>Case Presentation</b>: We are presenting the case of a 63-year-old woman with grade II obesity who was initially denied being a kidney donor to her son because of her weight. Under these circumstances, she underwent comprehensive lifestyle modification in the cardio-obesitology clinic (caloric restriction, physical activity, and pharmacological treatment with liraglutide). During the 3-month follow-up, she decreased her BMI to 33.4 kg/m<sup>2</sup>, and subsequent examinations confirmed no surgical contraindications to donating a kidney. Despite hematuria, biopsy and genetic testing revealed a benign carrier condition of Alport syndrome, which, without proteinuria or renal impairment, allowed successful kidney donation. <b>Conclusions</b>: This case demonstrates that conservative pharmacological treatment for body weight reduction with GLP-1 receptor agonists may be an alternative to bariatric surgery for selected obese kidney donor candidates. The presented case highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary and personalized approach. |
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| ISSN: | 2571-841X |