ABSTRACT
The first donor operation ever performed for successful clinical vascularized solid organ transplantation was a live open donor nephrectomy. It remains the most commonly performed donor operation today, but the technical aspects have evolved considerably. There are a number of possible techniques that are being utilized currently, and they include the following:
1. Traditional open donor nephrectomy (ODN) by a flank incision or anterior approach. 2. Minimal incisional open donor nephrectomy (MIODN) using a posterior or anterior
approach. 3. Laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (LLDN), or hand-assisted LLDN (HALDN). 4. Robotic hand-assisted laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (RHALDN).
