Evaluation of living related kidney donors in China: policies and practices in a transplant center.
BACKGROUND
Rigorous donor evaluation is essential for living related donor kidney transplantation (LRDKT). However, guidelines for living kidney donor evaluation are absent in China. The aim of this study is to describe the initial experience in the living kidney donor evaluation process in a single transplant center in China.


METHODS
The evaluation process of our center is sequentially divided into five steps: outpatient consultation and information, preliminary evaluation, comprehensive evaluation, final informed consent, and ethics committee oversight.


RESULTS
Between June 2007 and March 2009, 124 potential living donors were evaluated in our center, of whom 82 (66.1%) became effective donors and the remaining 42 (33.9%) were excluded. The exclusion reasons were related to clinical problems in 27 cases, psychosocial problems in seven cases, and suspected organ trading in eight cases.


CONCLUSIONS
Although strongly forbidden by Chinese laws, organ trading remains a threat to the healthy development of LRDKT in China. To prohibit organ trading, the kinship between the donor and recipient should be carefully identified. Guidelines for living donor evaluation appropriate to the actual situation in China should be set up for the sake of safety and to protect the rights and interests of both donors and recipients.
Zhao
Wen-Yu
WY
Organ Transplantation Institute of PLA, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Zhang
Lei
L
Han
Shu
S
Zhu
You-Hua
YH
Wang
Li-Ming
LM
Zhou
Mei-Sheng
MS
Zeng
Li
L
D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000941:ethics*; D019520:Living Donors / Q000941:ethics*; D008297:Male; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*