"Suboptimal" kidney donors: the experience with tacrolimus-based immunosuppression.
Female, pediatric, and older donors have been associated with inferior graft survival after renal transplantation. We analyzed these three subgroups in 397 patients receiving tacrolimus-based immunosuppression. There were no differences in recipient age, incidence of retransplantation, or percentage of sensitized patients. Female donors, compared with male donors, were associated with comparable 1- and 3-year patient survival rates (96% and 93% vs. 95% and 92%, respectively) and comparable 1- and 3-year graft survival rates (90% and 80% vs. 88% and 81%, respectively). Renal function was also similar. Recipients of pediatric en bloc kidneys, when compared with recipients of other cadaveric kidneys, also had comparable 1- and 3-year patient survival rates (94% and 94% vs. 95% and 91%, respectively) and comparable 1- and 3-year graft survival rates (84% and 84% vs. 89% and 79%, respectively). Renal function was better in recipients of en bloc kidneys, with a mean serum creatinine level of 1.4+/-1.8 mg/dl vs. 2.0+/-1.5 mg/dl (P=0.01). In contrast to the first two subgroups, donors over 60 years of age, when compared with donors under 60 years of age, were associated with worse 1- and 3-year patient survival rates (88% and 80% vs. 96% and 94%, respectively; P<0.03) and worse 1- and 3-year graft survival rates (74% and 62% vs. 91% and 83%, respectively; P<0.0001). Renal function was worse in the older donor group, with a serum creatinine level of 2.7+/-1.2 mg/ml vs. 1.9+/-1.5 mg/dl (P=0.01). We conclude that, under tacrolimus-based immunosuppression, kidneys from female or very young pediatric donors are not associated with adverse outcomes, whereas kidneys from donors over 60 years of age are associated with inferior outcomes.
Shapiro
R
R
Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
Vivas
C
C
Scantlebury
V P
VP
Jordan
M L
ML
Gritsch
H A
HA
Neugarten
J
J
McCauley
J
J
Randhawa
P
P
Irish
W
W
Fung
J J
JJ
Hakala
T
T
Simmons
R L
RL
Starzl
T E
TE
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014019:Tissue Donors
D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016559:Tacrolimus