title: Early living-donor kidney transplantation: a review of the associated survival benefit.
abstract: Avoidance of dialysis-related morbidity, improvement in quality of life, and reduction of costs have been mentioned as advantages of preemptive kidney transplantation. However, this therapeutic option is underutilized. Previous studies assessing the patient survival benefit of preemptive kidney transplantation compared it with postdialysis kidney transplantation. These studies may have been subjected to lead-time bias. When comparing patient survival of preemptive kidney transplant patients with waitlisted dialysis patients, there is a clear patient survival advantage in favor of preemptive kidney transplantation. This benefit justifies encouragement of preemptive kidney transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ylian S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Liem
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weimar
mesh_terms: D006085:Graft Survival / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D019520:Living Donors; D017582:Renal Replacement Therapy; D017741:Survivors; D014850:Waiting Lists