Over 5 Years of Excellent Graft Kidney Function Determinants: Baskent University Experience

Kidney graft survival may be evaluated according to the duration of time with a functioning graft. Survival alone may not satisfy expectations of a successful kidney transplant if the graft kidney does not show excellent function. In our study, we analyzed the characteristics of kidney transplant recipients who showed excellent graft function after 5 to 10 years of follow-up in an aim to improve graft survival and to ensure the best kidney function in the long term.

We retrospectively evaluated graft function and demographic characteristics of 288 patients who underwent kidney transplant between January 2008 and December 2012.

We found that 149 patients (51.7%) had excellent graft function, 88 patients (30.5%) had a functioning graft with a glomerular filtration rate lower than 60 mL/min and/or had signs of graft kidney dysfunction, and 45 patients (15.6%) experienced graft loss. Of 288 kidney transplant recipients enrolled in the study, most were male (56%), and mean age was 30.47 ± 14.36 years at time of transplant. Median time on dialysis was 39.09 ± 59.30 months. The overall graft survival rate in the patient group was 82.2% after 5 to 10 years of follow-up. Multivariate analysis showed that excellent graft survival predictors beyond 5 years were negative panel reactive antibody levels, lower donor age, shorter duration on dialysis, absence of acute rejection episodes, 3 or less HLA mismatches, lower immunosuppressive levels, and lower recipient age at transplant.

Lower panel reactive antibody levels, lower donor age, shorter duration on dialysis, absence of acute rejection episodes, 3 or less HLA mismatches, and lower recipient age at transplant are major determinants of excellent graft survival in our kidney transplant recipients.