Kidney transplantation from older donors: proceed with caution

Abstract

Kidney transplantation from living and deceased donors above age 60 increased in recent years in response to organ shortage. With careful screening, short-term follow-up of living elderly donors demonstrated stable remaining kidney function even in those with mild and controlled hypertension. The need for confirmation of long-term safety is heightened by the report by Tan et al. of a high prevalence of nephrosclerotic changes in these donors and evidence for a decreased number of glomeruli in elderly deceased donors.