**2.1 Recipient**

Careful evaluation of potential organ transplant recipients is necessary to detect co-existing illnesses that can adversely affect the prognosis of the transplantation. The subsisting clinical practice guidelines including the 2020 KDIGO guideline and the 2011 UK Renal Association Clinical Practice guideline (5th Edition) [55, 56] recommend the standard process of evaluation of prospective transplant recipients. Regardless of the recommendations of the practice guidelines, most transplant centres have their in-house protocols for transplant recipient evaluation. However, in SSA, the evaluation may be tailored to the available resources but should be efficient and cost-effective. The discussion below is typical for kidney transplant units in Nigeria but may apply to other organ transplantations and transplantations in other countries in the sub-region.

The evaluation of such candidates involves risk/benefit assessment and they should have at least five-year life expectancy derived from age, gender and race of the individual [57]. Many clinicians, however, consider other factors including severity of life-threatening diseases, functional status, clinical experience and knowledge of the patient to determine suitability for organ transplantation.
