of Medicine and Health Sciences of Stellenbosch University,

Laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy was per formed for the first time in 1995.[1] Donors experience less pain, return to work earlier and are more satis fied with the scar after minimal access nephrec tomy.[24] Schweitzer et al.[5] reported that laparo scopic donor nephrectomy increased the number of live donors by 20%. According to Greco et al.,[6] laparoscopic, retroperitoneoscopic and open donor nephrectomy are all accepted as standard of care. The retroperitoneal laparoscopic approach is particularly suitable for obese patients or a ‘vesselsfirst ’ approach, but the working space in the initial stages of the operation is limited and may increase the degree of difficulty