Outcome of Kidney Transplantation Using Organs From Brain-dead Donors Older Than 75 Years.

PURPOSE: We investigated whether older donor kidneys aged >75 years have acceptable long-term function and if recipients can benefit sufficiently from the transplantation.

METHODS: This single-center study retrospectively analyzed patient data from 217 deceased donor kidney transplants performed between 1998 and 2014 as part of the Eurotransplant Senior Program, where the organ donors were ≥65 years old. Depending on donor age, the groups "older donors" (OD; n = 161) and "very old donors" (VOD; n = 56) received transplants from donors aged 65 to 75 years and >75 years, respectively. Donor and recipient clinical characteristics, delayed graft function, estimated glomerular filtration rate, 1-year rejection rate, patient and graft survival, and postoperative complications were investigated.

RESULTS: Comparing VOD group vs OD group, the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year graft survival rates were 80.4% vs 76.4%, 62.5% vs 65.8%, and 42.6% vs 57.3%, respectively. Patient survival rates after 1, 3, and 5 years were 89.3% vs 88.2%, 71.4% vs 78.2%, and 57.5% vs 71.8%, respectively. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups (graft survival P = .107; patient survival P = .126). Kidney graft function after 1, 2, and 3 years was significantly better in the OD group than in the VOD group. No differences were found regarding postoperative complications, rejection rate, and delayed graft function.

CONCLUSION: The utilization of selected kidney-grafts from donors >75 years resulted in acceptable outcomes after kidney transplantation and could expand the donor pool. In contrast to the high mortality rate during dialysis, recipients in both groups benefited from transplantation.