In unrelated kidney transplants, where donors are not blood relatives, there is a higher rate of rejection by the recipient’s body. However, there are drugs to control rejection.

All unrelated organ donors have to prove to the Authorisation Committee set up under Transplantation of Human Organs Act of 1994 that the donation is based on altruistic grounds and not done for commerce. An unrelated donor can be anyone - friend, neighbour or a colleague outside the family.

The unrelated donor and recipient are evaluated medically to ensure there are no problems with the kidney, which takes three to four weeks, said Medical Director, NU Hospital (earlier called Bangalore Kidney Foundation) Dr Venkatesh Krishnamurthy.

In an unrelated kidney transplant, the cost of maintenance of the organ is higher as the dosage of medication has to be more, he said. Professor of Medicine, Vishnu Hyagriva,  said if the compatibility tests prove positive, the recipient has to be on immuno-supressant drugs.

According to a sources, a whole range of tests, including blood test, tissue cross-match and anatomical aspects of kidney are taken into consideration. In the US, a sizeable number of transplants are carried out with organs from altruistic donors.

All doctors agreed a successful cadaver transplant programme (where organs are retrieved and transplanted from a brain-dead patient) would be ideal.

Dr Phadke, Secretary, Zonal Coordination Committee of Karnataka for Organ Transplantation, says the problem with unrelated transplants is a matter of ethics and hence there should be awareness on cadaver trasplants to popularise it. However, even in countries where the number of cadaver transplants are high, the demand has not been met, says Dr Krishnamurthy.