[Experiences with kidney transplantation in elderly patients]

Despite a significant increase in the number of elderly patients with end stage renal disease, these patients still represent a minority of renal transplant recipients in many countries. Roughly the recipients in the present study were older than 50 years of age. Infection was a more common complication in these patients than in the younger patients. However, the incidence of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular complications was found to be lower than expected. Patient-graft survival in 110 renal transplants in 106 patients aged 50 years or older were 87% and 76% respectively. These results suggest that cadaveric renal transplantation represents a relatively safe form of therapy also for older patients.