Transplant International (Aug 2024)

Benefits of Living Over Deceased Donor Kidney Transplantation in Elderly Recipients. A Propensity Score Matched Analysis of a Large European Registry Cohort

  • Néstor Toapanta,
  • Jordi Comas,
  • Ignacio Revuelta,
  • Anna Manonelles,
  • Carme Facundo,
  • María José Pérez-Saez,
  • Anna Vila,
  • Emma Arcos,
  • Jaume Tort,
  • Magali Giral,
  • Maarten Naesens,
  • Dirk Kuypers,
  • Anders Asberg,
  • Anders Asberg,
  • Francesc Moreso,
  • Oriol Bestard,
  • the EKITE consortium

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/ti.2024.13452
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 37

Abstract

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Although kidney transplantation from living donors (LD) offers better long-term results than from deceased donors (DD), elderly recipients are less likely to receive LD transplants than younger ones. We analyzed renal transplant outcomes from LD versus DD in elderly recipients with a propensity-matched score. This retrospective, observational study included the first single kidney transplants in recipients aged ≥65 years from two European registry cohorts (2013–2020, n = 4,257). Recipients of LD (n = 408), brain death donors (BDD, n = 3,072), and controlled cardiocirculatory death donors (cDCD, n = 777) were matched for donor and recipient age, sex, dialysis time and recipient diabetes. Major graft and patient outcomes were investigated. Unmatched analyses showed that LD recipients were more likely to be transplanted preemptively and had shorter dialysis times than any DD type. The propensity score matched Cox’s regression analysis between LD and BDD (387-pairs) and LD and cDCD (259-pairs) revealing a higher hazard ratio for graft failure with BDD (2.19 [95% CI: 1.16–4.15], p = 0.016) and cDCD (3.38 [95% CI: 1.79–6.39], p < 0.001). One-year eGFR was higher in LD transplants than in BDD and cDCD recipients. In elderly recipients, LD transplantation offers superior graft survival and renal function compared to BDD or cDCD. This strategy should be further promoted to improve transplant outcomes.

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