Comparable renal graft survival in African-American and Caucasian recipients

In past years, many pediatric transplant centers found African-American renal transplant recipients to have poor graft survival. Since 1991 anti-lymphocyte induction therapy has been routinely used for pediatric cadaveric (CAD) and living-related donor (LRD) renal allograft recipients at the University of Tennessee, Memphis. Sixteen African-American first renal allograft recipients received induction therapy: 11 CAD allografts (10 OKT3, 1 ATGAM) and five LRD (all ATGAM). Sixteen Caucasian recipients received induction therapy; 3 CAD (all OKT3), 1 living-unrelated donor (OKT3), and 12 LRD (9 ATGAM, 3 OKT3). Mean age at renal transplantation was 11.8 and 10.5 years for African-American and Caucasian recipients, respectively. Predicted graft survival (PGS) estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method for the African-American patients was 94% at both 1 and 3 years, and for Caucasian patients was 94% and 85% at 1 and 3 years, respectively. Eleven African-American CAD recipients had a PGS of 91% at 1 and 3 years. Renal allograft survival for African-American and Caucasian pediatric recipients at our center appears to be comparable. This could be due, in part, to the use of anti-lymphocyte induction therapy. However, other factors, such as improved compliance or better immunological and pharmacological monitoring, may also have contributed.