ABSTRACT
Organ transplantation has evolved rapidly from the initial successes to the current widespread use of donated organs for the treatment of end-stage kidney, liver, heart, and lung failure (1). The success of solid-organ transplantation has increased the need for an expanded supply of organ donors. In response to this need, the acceptable age limit for deceased donors has continued to increase, and donors over the age of 50 years are now routinely used. The use of organs from live donors (related or unrelated) and nonheart-beating donors (NHBDs; those declared dead on the basis of cardiopulmonary criteria) has also increased. Nevertheless, there has been a progressively widening gap between the number of patients waiting for transplants and the number of transplantations performed (2).
