Kidney transplants in patients over 50.

Patients with end-stage renal failure shouldn't be denied the only possibility of cure just because they're old or have other chronic diseases. In this study of 69 patients over age 50-the largest series reported from a single medical center-kidney transplants from related donors had the same high rate of success as in younger patients. Over 80 percent of the patients who received kidneys from their children or siblings are still alive, in contrast to 52 percent of those who had to settle for a cadaver kidney. Infection posed the most serious hazard after surgery. Late complications, particularly hypertension and diabetes, were easily controoled and by no means debilitating. Four of the survivors still need hemodialysis, but over two-thirds have recovered completely.