Renal transplantation: origins and future.

Renal transplantation from its first successful operation in 1954 has become the preferred treatment option of patients with renal failure. The success of this recent development is followed in this article which tabulates surgical, tissue typing and immunosuppressive advancement. This success has produced other problems notably chronic rejection, posttransplant lympho-proliferative disease and donor shortage. The solutions to these problems are discussed, together with a hint of what is to come in the future.