Evaluation of the Recipient and Donor in Living Kidney Transplantation / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for end-stage renal disease. A successful kidney transplant improves the quality of life and reduces the mortality risk of patients, as compared to maintenance dialysis. The number of patients awaiting kidney transplantation has steadily increased, and the gap between allograft supply and demand continues to widen despite initiatives to expand the use of nonstandard deceased-donor allografts. The use of organs from living donors is one strategy to address the need for transplants. A medical, surgical, and psychosocial evaluation is mandatory prior to living kidney donation to ensure that the donor candidate is in good health and has normal kidney function, is not a risk to the recipient with respect to transmission of infections and malignancy, and will not face unacceptable risks after donation.