Preemptive deceased donor kidney transplantation: considerations of equity and utility.
OBJECTIVE
There exists gross disparity in national deceased donor kidney transplant availability and practice: waiting times exceed 6 years in some regions, but some patients receive kidneys before they require dialysis. This study aimed to quantify and characterize preemptive deceased donor kidney transplant recipients and compare their outcomes with patients transplanted shortly after dialysis initiation.


METHODS
Using the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients database, first-time adult deceased donor kidney transplant recipients between 1995 and 2011 were classified as preemptive, early (on dialysis ≤1 year), or late recipients. Random effects logistic regression and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression were used to identify characteristics of preemptive deceased donor kidney transplant and evaluate survival in preemptive and early recipients, respectively.


RESULTS
Preemptive recipients were 9.0% of the total recipient population. Patients with private insurance (adjusted odds ratio=3.15, 95% confidence interval=3.01-3.29, P<0.001), previous (nonkidney) transplant (adjusted odds ratio=1.94, 95% confidence interval=1.67-2.26, P<0.001), and zero-antigen mismatch (adjusted odds ratio=1.45, 95% confidence interval=1.37-1.54, P<0.001; Caucasians only) were more likely to receive preemptive deceased donor kidney transplant, even after accounting for center-level clustering. African Americans were less likely to receive preemptive deceased donor kidney transplant (adjusted odds ratio=0.44, 95% confidence interval=0.41-0.47, P<0.001). Overall, patients transplanted preemptively had similar survival compared with patients transplanted within 1 year after initiating dialysis (adjusted hazard ratio=1.06, 95% confidence interval=0.99-1.12, P=0.07).


CONCLUSIONS
Preemptive deceased donor kidney transplant occurs most often among Caucasians with private insurance, and survival is fairly similar to survival of recipients on dialysis for <1 year.
Departments of Medicine and Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. mgrams2@jhmi.edu
Morgan E
ME
Grams
B Po-Han
BP
Chen
Josef
J
Coresh
Dorry L
DL
Segev
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006085:Graft Survival; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014850:Waiting Lists; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data