The largest and longest study to look at long-term outcomes of kidney donation found that persons who give up one of their two kidneys live a normal life span and are as healthy as people in the general population. Researchers also determined that donating a kidney does not raise the risk of developing kidney failure in the future. Doctors believe the good outcomes are largely due to the strict screening process potential donors undergo, which insures that people with risk factors for kidney disease like high blood pressure and diabetes do not become donors.