Long-term follow-up of kidneys transplanted from elderly cadaveric donors

This report examines the long-term results obtained in 50 patients transplanted between 1977 and 1990 with kidneys from cadaveric donors aged 55-70 (median 59) years. The recipients comprised 27 men and 23 women aged 8-68 (median 42) years. In all, 20 patients (40%) had end-stage renal disease on the basis of glomerulonephritis, whereas 8 (16%) were diabetic. Immunosuppression was induced with antilymphocyte globulin and maintained with azathioprine and prednisone in all patients in addition to cyclosporine in the 35 patients transplanted since 1985. Immediate graft function occurred in 18 patients (36%), and 36 patients (72%) were off dialysis at 1 year posttransplant. Altogether, 25 patients (50%) had functioning grafts at 5 years posttransplant, and at up to 13 years of follow-up (mean 5.8 years), 22 patients (44%) are off dialysis and their serum creatinine levels range from 0.8 to 3.8 mg/dl (mean 2.0 mg/dl). In all, 12 patients (24%) expired from 2 months to 15.5 years posttransplant (mean 4.3 years), and 5 of these patients died with functioning grafts. These 5 deceased recipients and the 22 who remain alive with functioning grafts had a mean antigen match of 2.27 with their donors. The other 23 patients whose grafts failed had a mean antigen match of 2.13 (P = 0.77). The 15 recipients who were transplanted prior to the cyclosporine era had lower 1- and 5-year allograft survival rates of 67% and 47%, respectively, as compared with their counterparts, who took cyclosporine-based immunosuppression (74% and 51%, P = 0.58 and 0.76, respectively). Likewise, the 32 recipients with delayed graft function had lower 1- and 5-year allograft survival rates of 66% and 47%, respectively, as compared with the group with immediate graft function (83% and 56%, P = 0.18 and 0.56, respectively). We conclude that acceptable long-term patient and graft survival may be achieved by transplanting these organs and that the degree of HLA matching does not affect their outcome significantly. Patients with immediate allograft function also tended to do better over the long term. Although cyclosporine-based immunosuppression was advantageous within 1 year of transplant, its beneficial effect was less marked 5 years out.