Renal transplantation therapy performed for amyloid nephropathy is con
troversial because of the fatal effects of the disease. Amyloidosis is
a relatively frequent disease and is generally associated with famili
al Mediterranean fever (FMF) in Turkey. Renal transplantation in the t
reatment of amyloid nephropathy started in January 1985. Till now, 18
(3.2%) renal transplantations have been performed on patients who had
amyloid nephropathy. The mean follow-up period was 34.6 months. Fourte
en renal grafts still function well (creatinine: 1-3.2 mg/dL). The ove
rall 1-year patient and graft survival rates were 88.9% and 83.0%, res
pectively. These rates are not statistically different from renal tran
splantations done for other cases of renal failure. Therefore, patient
s with end-stage renal failure due to amyloidosis can be considered as
appropriate candidates for renal transplantation.