Up to 40% of the patients with kidney failure are suitable for a transplant, provided the right kidney can be found.

Various tests are required to determine if the transplanted kidney is well matched to the recipient in terms of blood group and tissue type.Patients who might not be considered are those with serious heart disease or cancer. This is because the drugs used to prevent rejection of the transplanted kidney can aggravate or advance these diseases.

Patients are more likely to cope physically with a transplant operation if they are a healthy weight and do not have raised blood pressure. Very obese patients are too unfit to be offered a transplant. Patients over 70 years of age are unlikely to be good recipients, because they do not tolerate the operation well, nor the drugs needed after the operation.