title: [Living donors in kidney transplantation. Renaissance by non-related donors?].
abstract: Renal Transplantation is hampered worldwide by the continuing lack of cadaveric organs. The discrepancy between the number of patients on the waiting list and the number of organs available is further compounded by the still unresolved problem of chronic transplant failure. Against this background, the arguments for increasing acceptance of the use of kidneys from living donors, both related and unrelated, are discussed. Initial reports on appreciably improved transplant survival rates of organs from unrelated living donors (85% survival after 3 years [19]) have since been confirmed by more recent studies. Our own results, in part obtained during a prospective study involving 103 patients (53 related, 50 unrelated) done between October 1994 and April 1999, with strict psychological care/evaluation prior to and after transplantation, revealed a four-year transplant survival rate of 98% in both groups. So far, the higher rejection rate of 34% in unrelated, vs. 13.2% in related, donors has not led to any earlier chronic dysfunction of the transplant. The expanded use of living kidney donors is not only ethically justifiable, but also improves the outcome.
authors.affiliation: Nephrologie, Medizinische Klinik 1, Klinikum Grosshadern der Universität München, D-81366 München.
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Hillebrand
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Theodorakis
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Illner
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stangl
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ebeling
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gutmann
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Schneewind
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Land
mesh_terms: D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005858:Germany; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019520:Living Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011379:Prognosis; D014022:Tissue Survival
vernacular_title: Lebendspende bei Nierentransplantation. Renaissance durch nicht verwandte Spender?