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According to the National Kidney Foundation, more than 121,000 people in the United States are hoping for a kidney transplant and almost 100,000 are waiting for a new organ from younger donors. New research however has shown that older kidneys are able to function to extend someone's life while being placed on dialysis. 

The Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN) published that kidneys donors aged 50 to 79 years can still function long enough after transplantation. The research suggested that the new source of quality kidneys can save more lives. 

It has been confirmed that surival rates for recipients were similar for all age levels five years after a transplant. Dr. Luigi Biancone of University of Torino in Italy unveiled that kidneys from donors aged 50 to 80 years old have similar survival rates after the transplantation. 

Dr. David Klasses of United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) revealed that age is not the sole criteria for transplantation, but the outcome of the organ's quality. Dr. Klasses said that former studies have noted that organ complications were dependent mostly on the effects after the operation.

The general survival rates after the kidney transplants were over 95 percent for patients and somewhat 95 percent lower for the kidney itself. The data, collected by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and analyzed by Dr. Biancone identified a total of 647 transplants with certain risk factors.

Kidneys that were donated can last for at least five years. While most people on the transplant waitlist would prefer an organ from a younger donor, cases have proven that receiving one from an older maleor female would be better.