Non-invasive imaging of living kidney donors: intraindividual comparison of multislice computed tomography angiography with magnetic resonance angiography

Background Evaluation of vascular variants is crucial for donor assessment prior to living kidney transplantation. Both contrast‐enhanced (CE) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and multislice computed tomography (MSCT) are currently used for imaging living kidney donors. Aim of this study was the comparison of the accuracy of MSCT angiography and CE‐MRA for the assessment of renal vascular anatomy. Methods Prospective study at a university transplant center including 65 potential living kidney donors. Pre‐operative imaging by MSCT angiography and CE‐MRA was correlated with the findings of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in 48 donors. Results MSCT detected significantly more patients and more kidneys with accessory arteries than CE‐MRA (p