New findings suggest adult kidney transplant recipients fare equally well receiving just one kidney from a young donor.  Currently, kidneys from donors under five years old are kept together and transplanted into one adult recipient.  This is based on the assumption that the smaller organs need to be transplanted together in order to be viable.  However, a recent study found patients who received one kidney and those who received both kidneys have similar life expectancies and organ function. 
 
These findings are significant for the 80,000 individuals waiting for kidney transplants in the United States.  Organs from one donor could help two individuals.  The study appears in the Clinical Journal of American Society of Nephrology.

This article originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of Kidney Transplant Today.