Living Kidney Donor Dies From Surgery in Canada

A 34-year-old Quebec woman who volunteered to donate a kidney to her ailing mother went into a coma on the operating table and died a week later, becoming one of the extremely rare cases of a living kidney donor dying from the procedure.

Montreal's Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, which revealed few details of what went wrong, has suspended living kidney transplants until an investigation into the case is completed next year.

The day before the surgery, Nathalie Dufour told a television interviewer that the transplant specialists had been very reassuring, and said: "My mother once had me in her stomach, she's just getting a little piece back. She gave me life. If I can help her, it will be extraordinary."

Studies have suggested that the risk of death for a living kidney donor is approximately three in 10,000.

"You can quote numbers like three in 10,000, but it's in cases like this where those numbers become real," said Dr. Anthony Jevnikar, the president of the Canadian Society of Transplantation.

"It's the ultimate generous gift and the donor gets a return because you can see a friend or family member or spouse return to normal life. But that is the only upside. The downside is that there is a real risk," Jevnikar added.

A hospital spokesperson said Dufour's mother was in good condition after the transplant.

Other Sources: Canadian Media