Data regarding transmission of viral illnesses from donor organs to recipients during transplantation are lacking. A study comparing outcomes of recipients of high-risk donor kidneys with those who elected to wait for a non-high-risk kidney found that delayed graft function, serum creatinine levels, death-censored graft survival and patient survival did not differ between the two groups. No donor-related transmission of viral infection was reported. Importantly, recipients of high-risk kidneys had a significantly shorter waiting list time than recipients of non-high-risk kidneys.