New data from the Organ Procurement Transplant Network (OPTN) and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), shows kidneys removed from living donors over the age of 55 and transplanted into older recipients functioned very well. Living donor transplants from older donors may be an important venue for elderly patients waiting for a kidney transplant.
 
A study recently found survival of kidney transplant recipients who had an older living donor was far greater than recipients who received an organ from a deceased donor.

This article originally appeared in the October 2008 issue of Kidney Transplant Today.