Outcomes of transplants from patients with small renal tumours, live unrelated donors and dialysis wait-listed patients.

We report the outcomes of renal transplant patients (n = 43) who received grafts from donors (n = 41) with small (<3 cm) renal tumours removed before transplantation covering the period from May 1996 to September 2007. Patient and graft survival were compared with the outcomes of conventional live unrelated transplants (LURTs) (n = 120) and to patient survival on the transplant waiting list for those who did not receive a kidney during this period (n = 153). Patient survival at 1, 3 and 5 years were 92%, 88% and 88% for recipients of tumourectomized kidneys (TKs), 99%, 97% and 97% for LURTs, and 98%, 92% and 74% for dialysis patients waiting for a deceased donor kidney (log rank score 10.4, P = 0.005). One patient experienced a local tumour recurrence at 9 years following transplantation. This patient declined intervention and is currently under active surveillance. Transplantation of tumourectomized kidneys from patients with small, localized, incidentally detected renal tumours results in similar outcomes to conventional LURTs and confers a significant survival advantage for patients who would otherwise be unable to receive a transplant.