Abnormalities in the kidneys and their blood vessels occur in at least 25 percent of healthy individuals. While most of these conditions are not harmful enough to prevent someone from donating a kidney, future studies are needed to determine their impact on long-term health. To determine how commonly these abnormalities occur in healthy adults, doctors examined nearly 2,000 adults who came into the Mayo Clinic to see if they could donate a kidney to a patient with kidney failure. These adults all underwent CT scans with detailed imaging of the kidneys and renal arteries.

The investigators found abnormalities in the kidneys and renal arteries were quite common, occurring in at least 1 in 4 adults. Kidney stones were the most common abnormality and were present in 1 in 10 adults. More than 73 percent of these abnormalities were not harmful enough to prevent kidney donation. The results appear in the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).   

This article originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of Kidney Transplant Today.