[Kidney transplantation]

Due to advances in immunosuppressive therapy, renal transplantation now offers ESRD patients a better quality of life with short and long-term survival at least equal to the other replacement therapies. Absolute contraindications are rare and are not related to age itself but to associated severe extrarenal diseases. Even absolute psychiatric contraindications are out of the ordinary. Hyperimmunization is still often an insuperable problem. In fact the shortage of transplantable organs, which has become steadily more acute in the last three years, is the main reason why the vast majority of ESRD patients cannot benefit from a functioning graft.