A proposal for an anonymous living organ donation in Germany.

In Germany, living organ donation of paired and usually not regenerating organs is restricted by law to related individuals, as well as persons who 'obviously entertain an especially intimate personal relationship'. When this law was adopted in 1997, the intention of the legislator was to guarantee the free will of the donor and to exclude any trade of organs. Since then the transplantation of cadaveric organs has not increased.

Prognostic value of troponin T, troponin I, and CK-MBmass in patients with chronic renal failure.

Background: In patients with chronic renal failure undergoing long-term hemodialysis, ischemic heart disease accounts for up to 50% of mortality. Cardiac troponins T (TnT) and I (TnI) are frequently elevated in this patient group, but data on the prognostic relevance of these markers, especially TnI, are controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic power of a new, sensitive TnI assay in comparison with TnT and other cardiac markers.