title: Current Status of Kidney Transplant Outcomes: Dying to Survive.
abstract: Kidney transplantation is associated with improved survival compared with maintenance dialysis. In the United States, post-transplant outcomes have steadily improved over the last several decades, with current 1-year allograft and patient survival rates well over 90%. Although short-term outcomes are similar to those in the international community, long-term outcomes appear to be inferior to those reported by other countries. Differences in recipient case mix, allocation polices, and health care coverage contribute to the long-term outcome disparity. This review presents the current status of kidney transplant outcomes in the United States and compares them with the most recent outcomes from Australia and New Zealand, Europe, and Canada. In addition, early trends after implementation of the new kidney allocation system in the United States and its potential impact on post-transplant outcomes are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, Minneapolis, MN; and Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: Jeffrey H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, Minneapolis, MN; and Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Skeans
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, Minneapolis, MN; and Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. Electronic address: isran001@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Ajay K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Israni
mesh_terms: D014943:Global Health; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000401:mortality*; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D013997:Time Factors; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Allograft survival; Kidney transplant; Organ allocation; Outcomes; Patient survival