The use of kidneys from living donors with renal vascular disease: expanding the donor pool

Abstract

Purpose: The disparity between the number of patients awaiting organ transplantation and the number of available donor organs continues to increase. We report the outcomes of transplantation using kidneys from living donors who had unilateral renovascular disease.

Materials and methods: We identified 5 living donors who had unilateral renovascular disease, including saccular renal artery aneurysms, an arteriovenous malformation, localized atherosclerosis and fibromuscular renal artery stenosis. Each donor was normotensive and asymptomatic, and had otherwise normal renal function.

Results: In each case the abnormal kidney was removed, the lesion was repaired ex vivo and the kidney was successfully transplanted without complication in the donor or recipient. Each recipient had a serum creatinine of less than 2 mg./dl. and each donor remained normotensive with stable renal function at up to 3 years of followup.

Conclusions: Kidneys from living donors with renovascular disease can be transplanted safely provided that careful selection, informed consent and a normal remaining kidney are ensured.