Kidney transplantation from a brain-dead heart transplant candidate treated with biventricular assist device: 12-month follow-up

The continuing disparity between the demand for kidney transplants and the supply of organs has necessitated the use of organs from an extended criteria donor pool [1–3]. Clearly, organs that would have been previously thought unsuitable are currently used for transplantation. In this study, we report the successful kidney transplantation from a heart transplant candidate who had received therapy with a biventricular assist device for terminal heart failure complicated by severe pulmonary hypertension, and who died because of a fatal cerebral haemorrhage.