Causes of failure to harvest cadaver kidneys for transplantation.

Fifty-two possible donors of cadaver kidneys were referred to the Nuffield Transplantation Surgery Unit, Edinburgh, in 12 months. Only 12 (23%) yielded kidneys, while a further 12 were medically unsuitable as donors. Refusal by relatives to allow cadaver nephrectomy was the largest avoidable loss of potentially transplantable kidneys. A similar but unavoidable loss occurred through sudden death of the possible donor.