Elderly Kidney Transplant Recipients: Single-Center Experience in the Middle East

The number of renal transplants in elderly patients is increasing as age per se does not constitute a contraindication to transplant. We compared renal transplant outcomes in elderly recipients versus a group of middle-aged patients.

Our retrospective casecontrolled study compared elderly transplant recipients (n = 252; > 60 y old) with a matched cohort of younger adult recipients (n = 710; between 40 and 60 years old) who underwent renal transplant at the Hamed Al-Essa Organ Transplant Center of Kuwait between 2000 and 2014. Demographic characteristics, comorbidities, complications after transplant, and graft and patient outcomes were compared between groups.

There were 252 elderly kidney transplant recipients (mean age of 65.5 ± 4.8 y; 59.52% males) and 710 younger adult patients (mean age of 49.3 ± 5.5 years; 61.4% males). Most donors were males in their thirties. Deceased donors predominated in the younger adult group, whereas living unrelated donors predominated in the elderly group (P < .05). Diabetes represented the most common cause of endstage kidney disease. Younger patients tended to receive heavier induction therapy but comparable maint enance immunosuppression. Posttransplant diabetes was higher in younger patients; however, there were more elderly patients with micro- and macroangiopathies (P < .05). No significant differences were shown between groups with regard to patient or graft survival (P > .05). This could be attributed to a significantly higher number of patients with cardiovascular risks, less rejection episodes, and higher number of malignancies in the elderly group (P < .05).

Due to relatively less potent immunosuppression, elderly patients experienced lower rejection rates and better graft survival; however, patient survival was lower due to higher cardiovascular risk factors. Older patients should not be discouraged from living-donor renal transplant. Targeted research studies on protocols for the elderly are needed.