title: Living donor kidney allograft survival ≥ 50 years.
abstract: The first successful kidney transplant occurred in 1954. Since then, long-term graft survival has been an elusive idealistic goal of transplantation. Yet 62 years later, we know of only 6 kidney transplant recipients who have achieved ≥  50-year graft survival while being on no immunosuppression or a substantially reduced regimen. Herein, we report graft survival  ≥ 50 years in 2 living donor recipients who have been maintained on standard-of-care immunosuppression the entire time. For our 2 recipients, their living donor's altruism altered the course, length, and quality of their life, which by all accounts can be deemed normal: They attended college, held jobs, had successful pregnancies, raised families, and were productive members of society. Both donors are still alive and well, more than 50 years post-donation; both have an acceptable GFR and normal blood pressure, with hyperlipidemia as their only medical problem. These 2 intertwined stories illustrate the tremendous potential of a successful kidney transplant: long-term survival with a normal lifestyle and excellent quality of life, even after more than 5 decades on full-dose immunosuppression.
authors.affiliation: Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Oscar K
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5076-0938
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Serrano
authors.affiliation: Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Arthur J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Matas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D064591:Allografts; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000601:surgery*; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: donor; kidney; living; long; survival; term; transplant