Patients in need of a kidney transplant have up to now been required to find a nearly-perfect match as the immune system tends to reject most transplanted organs. However, a recent study suggests that with a new approach transplants can come from any donor.

The study showed that patients whose immune system was technically incompatible with the kidney transplant they received were more likely to be alive eight years later than people who did not get a transplant or were on the waiting lists.