Outcome of patients from the west of Scotland traveling to Pakistan for living donor kidney transplants.

The aim of this study was to analyze the 3-year outcome of patients traveling from the west of Scotland to Pakistan for living donor kidney transplant. Baseline data and outcomes of 18 consecutive recipients who traveled to Pakistan between 2000 and 2007 and returned for follow-up at the regional transplant unit in the west of Scotland were retrieved from the electronic patient record. Mean follow-up was 775 days. No patients died. Two kidneys failed at 12 and 1400 days, respectively. The incidence of acute rejection in the first year was 11.1%. Mean eGFR at 1 and 3 years were 51.8 and 47.7 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively. One patient developed malaria. No patients contracted hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or human immunodeficiency virus infection. The outcomes of this series of patients are better than previous reports and can be used to inform patients who ask for advice about the risks of traveling abroad for kidney transplantation.