title: Deceased donor renal transplantation--does side matter?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of the present study was to determine whether the deceased donor kidney side (left or right kidney) was predictive of subsequent kidney transplant outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis was undertaken of the left-right deceased donor kidney pairs transplanted into recipients with end-stage renal failure in Queensland between 1 April 1994 and 31 March 2004.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 201 left-right deceased donor kidney pairs were transplanted into 402 patients. The baseline characteristics of the recipients in the two groups were comparable, except that the patients receiving right kidneys had lower body mass indices and shorter cold ischaemic times. No differences were seen between the left and right kidney recipient groups with respect to operative duration (3.02 +/- 0.67 vs 3.12 +/- 0.72 h, P = 0.16), warm ischaemic time (0.62 +/- 0.18 vs 0.65 +/- 0.21, P = 0.09), delayed graft function (4 vs 6%, respectively, P = 0.26) or a composite vascular, haemorrhagic, ureteric and infective post-operative complication end-point (22 vs 22%, P = 0.90). Estimated glomerular filtration rates were almost identical at 1 month (52.7 +/- 39.6 vs 51.0 +/- 24.0 ml/min/1.73 m(2), P = 0.34) and remained comparable thereafter. Respective death-censored graft survival rates for left and right kidney recipients were 100 and 100% at 1 year, 99.4 and 96.4% at 3 years and 96.3 and 95.5% at 5 years, respectively (P = 0.67).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although left and right deceased donor kidneys present different operative challenges, the present results suggest that the probability of early post-operative complications, delayed graft function, impaired early and medium-term renal allograft function or death-censored graft failure is comparable between left and right kidney recipients.
authors.affiliation: Queensland Renal Transplant Service, University of Queensland, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. david_johnson@health.qld.gov.au
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Mudge
authors.forename: Mohammed O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Kaisar
authors.forename: Scott B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Carmel M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hawley
authors.forename: Nicole M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Isbel
authors.forename: Daryl
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wall
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Preston
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Nicol
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000601:surgery*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014019:Tissue Donors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D003404:Creatinine