[Living donor kidney transplant: the vision of the Italian National Transplant Center].

Living donor kidney transplantation offers an additional opportunity for patients with renal failure. The Italian National Transplant Center has collected data on kidney transplants from living donors since 2001. The data revealed a sharp increase in recent years, although the number of living donor transplants is still low compared to the number of patients on the waiting list. The National Transplant Center aims to promote the opportunity for kidney transplants from living donors and to provide information to all stakeholders, including information on specific programs such as crossover transplantation and Samaritan donation. The ultimate purpose of the National Transplant Center is to reduce the waiting lists for kidney transplants in Italy.