The use of a minor as a live kidney donor.
An analysis of the UNOS database suggests a practice pattern that uses live minor kidney donors in clinical circumstances not endorsed by the recommendations of a recent consensus conference on live organ donation. These data reveal that minor donor kidneys were transplanted more frequently to adult than to pediatric recipients, that only 12% of all recipients were identical twins, and that the use of a minor donor provided no better outcome than that expected from an adult donor. Live organ donation from a minor should only be considered when there is no other living donor available and all other opportunities for transplantation have been exhausted.
Delmonico
Francis L
FL
Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Massachusets General Hospital, Boston, USA. delmonico.francis@mgh.harvard.edu
Harmon
William E
WE
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003245:Consensus Statements as Topic; D005260:Female; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000941:ethics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D033242:Minors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000941:ethics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014180:Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic / Q000235:genetics
D006680:HLA Antigens