BRAZIL: Albert Einstein Clears 73-Year-Old Living Donor, Kidney Transplant Frees Patient From Daily Dialysis

73-Year-Old Sister Donates kidney Enabling Transplant After Patient Faces Dialysis

WORLD NEWS – BRAZIL: A 73-year-old sister became a living kidney donor in São Paulo, providing a successful renal transplant for a man who had long struggled with chronic kidney disease and diabetes. The operation, coordinated through Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, followed months of evaluation and debate over whether to wait for a deceased donor or accept a living relative’s organ.

The recipient, Simeão, traces kidney problems back two decades and developed diabetes linked to weight gain. In January 2025 his nephrologist, Dr. Riel, recommended starting dialysis — a regimen of thrice-weekly procedures that would have severely constrained his travel and work. Given that lifestyle impact, transplant was advised as the best path forward and Simeão initially joined the deceased donor list, known locally as the fila do morto.

Several friends and family members volunteered to donate, and children offered kidneys as well, but Simeão hesitated to ask loved ones to undergo surgery. At Dr. Riel’s urging he consulted Dr. Mário Nogueira, chief of nephrology at Albert Einstein, who oversaw evaluations that determined his younger sister’s kidney was an excellent match despite her age. After counseling and testing, she proceeded with living donation, allowing the transplantation to move ahead on a planned timeline.

Hospital teams report the transplant has markedly improved the recipient’s prognosis and daily life, underscoring the growing recognition of older living donors as viable sources of organs. Clinicians at Albert Einstein say the case highlights how personalized evaluation, living donation and timely transplantation can restore quality of life for patients facing the limitations of long-term dialysis.

Video originally published on 2026-05-16 17:00:49