Introduction: The prevalence of obesity in the United States has increased significantly over the last twenty years and nearly one-third of adults are obese. The prevalence of end-stage renal disease is also growing and a reliable way of increasing the rate of kidney transplantation is through live kidney donation. Unfortunately, the donor population likely suffers from the same prevalence of obesity as the general population. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of obesity and demographic variables relating to exclusion from donation due to obesity in patients who sought to be live kidney donors.

Methods: Data included all potential donors who contacted our center via a web-based application between Jan 2011 and June 2012 and underwent initial donor screening. Data were analyzed using non-parametric tests of frequencies and multiple logistic regression. Summary data are reported as frequencies, means and SD.

Results: The sample included 967 white or AA potential donors (68% female, 88% white). Overall BMI averaged 28 ± 6 (min 17, max 51). Twenty-two percent (n=212) of potential donors were ineligible, and of these 66% (n=140) were excluded secondary to BMI>35. The mean BMI of excluded candidates was 39.7± 3 (min 35, max 51). Nineteen percent of African Americans and 14% of whites were excluded due to BMI >35 (p=0.162). After controlling for race, females were more likely to be excluded for BMI >35 (p=0.002) and there was no difference by race in likelihood of being excluded due to BMI (p=0.385).

Conclusion: An alarming number of potential donors are excluded secondary to obesity. Females were more likely to be excluded for BMI >35; however, there was no difference in exclusion by race. This represents an important potential target for interventions to increase live kidney donation through weight loss programs.

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