Can acupuncture ease pain for kidney donors?

This study tested whether a special type of acupuncture, called thread embedding acupuncture, can reduce pain and improve quality of life for people donating a kidney through laparoscopic surgery. 32 healthy kidney donors were randomly assigned to receive either real acupuncture with a dissolvable thread or a sham version without the thread, both alongside standard pain care. The researchers measured pain levels and quality of life over 14 days after surgery to see if the acupuncture provided extra benefit.