Renal Transplantation in Identical Twins

Since 1954, renal transplantation from one identical twin to another has been reported in 25 cases,1,6-9,12,15,18,22of which 18 have been done by Murray and his associates15in Boston. Inasmuch as such twins develop from the same fertilized ovum, their tissues are genetically identical and consequently mutually acceptable for homografting.5,13The problems encountered with tissue transplantation under these circumstances are essentially technical and concern details of procurement, transfer, and revascularization of the kidney. The present report is of a renal transplantation performed in March, 1962. The kidney was donated by a healthy 27-year-old man to his identical twin brother who suffered from terminal glomerulonephritis. In caring for these patients, some variations were evolved from the operative methods previously standardized by Murray, Merrill, and Harrison,13,18involving not only the removal but the preservation and reimplantation of the kidney. In addition, a syndrome of postoperative microscopic hematuria occurred