Background. Very few randomized studies on laparoscopic (L) versus open (O) living-donor
nephrectomy (LDN) have been presented. The largest randomized series reported so far
included 80 donors. In 2000, an Australian safety group concluded that the evidence base
for L-LDN is inadequate to make recommendations regarding safety and efficacy. Methods.
With this background, at our single national center, 122 donors were randomized to left-
sided L-LDN (n= 63) or O-LDN (n= 59), from February 2001 to May 2004. This article …

Renal transplantation was fi rst performed in 1936 by Voronoy 1. The kidney was harvested
in a patient who had died from a head injury 6 hours earlier. The blood group of the donor
was incompatible with that of the recipient. The renal graft did not function and the recipient
died two days later. Subsequently, Voronoy performed kidney transplantations in fi ve more
patients under similar circumstances, however without success. After these early attempts,
renal transplantations were not performed for over two decades.