[Donor and recipient selection in living donor kidney transplantation: eligibility]

This review is intended to be a guide for the physician to evaluate and prepare a donor / recipient couple for living kidney transplantation. Although it is intended to be exhaustive, it will not be able to respond at all possible and different cases, but it may apply at most of them. Renal transplantation is considered the choice treatment for patients with chronic renal failure and if the kidney transplant is performed pre-emptive it is associated with better organ and patient survival. The main aim of the program is to evaluate the risks of donor and recipient and to ensure the donor safety and well-being. Eligibility for living transplant can only be granted when the risks are acceptable, well defined and the couple is adequately informed. The review includes clinical and legal procedures needed to transplantation. Early conditions that contraindicate the transplant must be removed, to avoid unnecessary exams, excessive waste of time, money. The sequence of the exams has been ordered so that costly and invasive surveys are carried out only after other simple and essential investigations have confirmed the transplant suitability. Special attention should be paid to the renal function measurement, proteinuria, hematuria, hypertension, obesity, pre diabetes, renal calculus, and cancers. To give eligibility for living transplant is often not easy, but a careful study can avoid many complications and improve the transplant outcome.