Kidney Transplantation from Anencephalic Donors

CONSIDERATION has recently been given to whether anencephalic fetuses can appropriately be used as organ donors after birth. 1 Our group has performed three successful kidney transplantations from two anencephalic fetuses, and we report the results after post-transplantation observation periods of more than 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 years, respectively. Our approach was a response to a shortage of cadaveric kidneys for transplantation in our area. We were, however, aware of a variety of ethical problems 2 that had to be considered before an attempt was made to deliver anencephalic infants as organ donors for either children or adults. These problems are . . .