Effective use of kidneys for transplantation from asystolic donors.

Severe organ shortage for transplantation is an increasing problem because the number of traditional heart-beating cadaveric donors is declining. Ways need to be found to expand the donor pool without commercializing organ transplantation, especially from unrelated live donors, and to maintain high medical standards of these procedures and their follow-up. Kidneys from asystolic or nonheart-beating donors (NHBDs) are a valuable source of organs, which can be of excellent quality, with good long-term function after transplantation. This organ source is widely underused at the moment; even so, there is increased popularity during the last few years in different countries. In addition, the rate of discarding viable kidneys from these NHBDs is still too high. Logistical and legal aspects are other important issues that need to be addressed to promote these NHBD programs more effectively. Waiting lists for renal transplantation could be significantly reduced in the future.