title: Favourable outcomes for the first 10 years of kidney and pancreas transplantation at Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is important for centres participating in transplantation in South Africa (SA) to audit their outcomes. Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (WDGMC), Johannesburg, SA, opened a transplant unit in 2004. The first 10 years of kidney and pancreas transplantation were reviewed to determine outcomes in respect of recipient and graft survival.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review was conducted of all kidney-alone and simultaneous kidney-pancreas (SKP) transplants performed at WDGMC from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2013, with follow-up to 31 December 2014 to ensure at least 1 year of survival data. Information was accessed using the transplant registers and clinical records in the transplant clinic at WDGMC. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate 1-, 5- and 10-year recipient and graft survival rates for primary (first graft) kidney-alone and SKP transplants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall 10-year recipient and graft survival rates were 80.4% and 66.8%, respectively, for kidney-alone transplantation. In the kidney-alone group, children tended towards better recipient and graft survival compared with adults, but this was not statistically significant. In adults, recipient survival was significantly better for living than deceased donor type. Recipient and graft survival were significantly lower in black Africans than in the white (largest proportion in the sample) reference group. For SKP transplants, the 10-year recipient survival rate was 84.7%, while kidney and pancreas graft survival rates were 73.1% and 43.2%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Outcomes of the first 10 years of kidney and pancreas transplantation at WDGMC compare favourably with local and international survival data.
authors.affiliation: Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. june.fabian@mweb.co.za.
authors.forename: June
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fabian
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maher
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gaylard
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Crymble
authors.forename: Belinda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Lou
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aucamp
authors.forename: Errol
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gottlich
authors.forename: Jerome
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Loveland
authors.forename: J Rene
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Botha
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Botha
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Britz