Q: My father has renal failure. The doctor has advised for kidney transplantation. My 45 years old aunt (father's sister) is donating a kidney to him. But her right kidney is smaller in size than the normal and she has high blood pressure problem too. Can she donate her kidney to my father?

A:The right kidney is normally smaller than the left by about 2 to 2.5 cm. You say that your aunt’s right kidney is smaller than normal. This information alone is not enough; there are so many aspects to it besides size. Also differential functional studies should be done for each kidney individually. The rule always is to leave the better kidney for the donor and if you are not able to decide about the status of the smaller kidney, reject the donor and look for another donor.