[Need and demand of kidneys for transplantation in Venezuela].

The number of cadaveric kidneys available for transplantation has become insufficient around the world. Despite concerted efforts, we have been unsuccessful in greatly improve the supply of organ donors, and consequently the number of end stage renal failure patients awaiting for kidney transplantation continues to increase. The primary objective of this paper is to quantify the need and supply of kidneys for transplant in Venezuela. An overview of the current level of kidney transplant activity in Venezuela is presented, observing that the activity with cadaveric donors had been predominant since 1983, although not to an optimal level. The annual activity in kidney transplant between 1989-1991 remained stable in 6 transplants/million people, but went sharply down to 4.6 in 1992. An estimate of the current need is around 10 donors/million people. This is in contrast with an effective donation rate of only 2.01 and 1.92 donors/million achieved in 1990 and 1991 respectively. The most frequent cause for no donation was the lack of familiar consent. Based on an analysis of the factors involved in the shortage of donor supply in Venezuela, we present some recommendations to increase the availability of cadaveric organ donors in the country. These measures include an improvement of education and legal regulation in the field of organ donation and transplantation, and following the Spanish model, the creation of a program of hospital transplant coordinators that can detect and evaluate potential organ donors as well as coordinate the logistical aspects of transplantation.