Live donor's age has little effect on health of a transplanted kidney

People with kidney failure may think that they're better off getting a new kidney from a young donor, but a recent study indicates that for those over 39, the age of a live donor has an insignificant effect on long-term health. The study included data from all adult kidney transplants from living donors in the US from 1988 to 2003. The researchers also looked to see what happens to wait-listed patients who do not receive kidneys from living donors. The likelihood that patients would receive a kidney from a deceased donor after three years of wait-listing ranged from 21 percent to 66 percent, while and their risk of being excluded from transplantation (due to death or removal from the wait-list) ranged from 6 percent to 27 percent. With these probabilities, many patients will likely find that participating in living donor paired exchanges -- possibly with an older donor -- is a better option than continuing to wait for a deceased donor transplant.