Update on kidney transplantation for the urologist.

The incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the United States is increasing dramatically and renal transplantation is the best treatment for many of these patients. The results of kidney transplantation also have improved. This has resulted in a significant demand for organs that is not met by the current supply of deceased donors. There now are more living kidney donors than cadaveric donors because the results of living donor renal transplantation are superior and the prolonged wait for a cadaveric kidney transplant can be avoided. Therefore, urologists will have increasing exposure to patients with ESRD and those with renal transplantation.