Nondirected Donation of Kidneys from Living Donors

Abstract

The transplantation of organs from living donors has always involved a balancing of the physical risks and psychological benefits to the donor against the benefits to the recipient. Early in the history of transplantation, the expectation was that the outcomes for recipients of transplants from living unrelated donors and for recipients of cadaveric transplants would be similar and that the risks to unrelated living donors would therefore not be justified.As the outcome of kidney transplantation improved and the criteria for accepting patients for transplantation were expanded, greater numbers of patients with end-stage renal failure opted for transplantation rather than . . .