'Risky donor' kidney transplants prove successful

So far five patients have been treated by the team at Baltimore's University of Maryland School of Medicine.

The US surgeons say the technique offers a vital lifeline to patients with end-stage renal failure who could die waiting for a healthy donor organ.

None of the patients has yet developed cancer urology journal BJUI reports.

Before the transplants took place, the doctors said they had detailed discussions with the patients and the donors about the discovery of the cancer in the donor kidneys so that they were both aware of the risks, including recurrence of the cancer.