[Survival in renal transplant recipients in Colombia, 2008-2012]

The Red Nacional de Donación y Trasplantes of the Colombian Instituto Nacional de Salud reported that in 2014, 1,059 organ transplants were performed, of which 761 were kidney transplants, and 643 (84.5%) of these were from cadaveric organ donors.

To describe the socio-demographic characteristics of patients who received renal transplants, as well as their outcomes in terms of survival.

National kidney transplants were analyzed through an observational retrospective cohort study. Overall survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The survival curves by sex, age, type of donor, type of insurance, and time on the waiting list were compared utilizing the log rank hypothesis and a Cox regression.

A total of 3,980 patients were included, of whom 338 died according to the Registry of Affiliates. The median follow-up time was 49 months, overall survival was 6.35 years (95% CI: 6.30 to 6.40), the one-year survival following transplantation was 97.2%, the three-year survival, 93.2%, and the five-year survival, 90.8%. The survival rate was higher in patients under 50 years of age, receptors of living donor transplants, and with less than six months on the waiting list.

The results obtained serve as the basis for future studies with strict monitoring of survival among kidney transplant recipients in Colombia.