Transplanting Kidneys with Renal Masses?

According to an article in BJUI, a new class of kidney donor organs is being considered. Surgeons at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have transplanted five kidneys from which they had removed small masses, three of which were cancerous. Four of the five patients have survived between nine months and 41 months so far without any evidence of recurring tumors. The fifth transplant patient died about a year after the operation because of a fall in an accident.

“Transplanting a living donor kidney which has been affected by a renal mass is controversial and considered a high risk” urologist Michael W Phelan, co-author of the study, said in a statement. “However the ongoing shortage of organs from deceased donors, and the high risk of dying while waiting for a transplant, prompted five donors and recipients to push ahead with surgery after the small masses were found in the donor kidneys.”

This would not be the first choice for me,or my patients , but sounds interesting for others.