The UNOS Scientific Renal Transplant Registry.

Based on analyses of kidney transplants reported to the UNOS Scientific Renal Transplant Registry from 1991-1997: 1. The 5-year patient and graft survival rates were 82% and 63%, respectively, for 50,291 recipients of cadaver donor kidneys and 90% and 77%, respectively, for 20,258 recipients of living donor transplants. 2. Black recipients had 12% lower 5-year graft survival rates than Whites whether the kidney was from a cadaver donor (n = 11,575) or a living donor (n = 2,806). 3. The survival rates of second transplants were only 2% less than first transplants, whether the kidney was from a living or cadaver donor. The one-year regraft survival rates for multiply retransplanted patients were 77% and 87% for cadaver and living donor retransplants, respectively. 4. Graft survival rates were 5-6% lower among broadly sensitized recipients (> 50% PRA) than unsensitized (< 10% PRA) recipients, regardless of the donor source. 5. The average recipient aged between 1991-1997. The mean age increased from 42-46 years for cadaver kidney and from 34-40 years for living donor transplant recipients. 6. The percentage of older donors also increased during 1991-1997. The proportion of cadaver kidneys from donors over age 45 rose from 24% in 1991 to 33% in 1997. The percentage of living donors over age 45 increased from 23% in 1991 to 29% in 1997. 7. There was a 25% difference in 5-year graft survival rates comparing recipients of kidneys from 19-30 year-old cadaver donors with those who received kidneys from donors over age 60. Recipients of kidneys from living donors over age 60 had an 8% lower 5-year graft survival rate than when the donor was aged 19-30. 8. Among recipients of cadaver kidneys, the incidence of delayed graft function increased from 17% when the donor was aged 15-20 to 40% when the donor was over 65. DGF reduced one-year survival rates by 10% and half-lives by 2 years when grafts from 19-30 year old donors and donors older than 55 were analyzed separately. Cold ischemia time also resulted in increased DGF, from 17-39% for CIT up to 49-72 hours. However, when the donor was aged 19-30, DGF ranged from 12-30% and when the donor was over 60, DGF increased from 33-68% with longer CIT. 9. Rejection episodes before the initial hospital discharge resulted in a 10% reduction in 5-year graft survival rates regardless of the donor source. 10. The degree of HLA compatibility between the donor and recipient was associated with a 12% difference in 5-year graft survival rates among recipients of cadaver kidneys. The survival difference was 11% among recipients of living-related donor kidneys, but there was no difference in the survival of one- and 2-haplotype disparate grafts. Similarly kidneys transplanted from distant relatives and from unrelated donors with poor HLA compatibility resulted in survival rates that were not distinguishable from HLA-mismatched related donor kidneys.