We have often found elder's wish to donate the critical organs such as kidneys and liver. But most of the times the donations have been viewed with scepticism. Not any
more.
The commonly held view is that kidneys from older donors do not survive as long as those from younger donors. But doctors point out in The New England Journal of Medicine, excellent long-term outcomes can be achieved using kidney transplants from donors older than 60 years of age, provided that the kidneys are properly evaluated prior to implantation, research shows. They also add that the kidneys from older donors based on preimplantation characteristics might help narrow the gap in outcomes and expand the donor-organ pool.
According to Dr. Piero Ruggenenti and colleagues, from the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Bergamo, Italy compared the outcomes of 62 patients given "histologically evaluated" kidneys from an older donor with those of 248 matched recipients given non-evaluated kidneys from either older or younger donors. All of the recipients were older than 50 years of age.
During a median follow-up of 23 months, the rate of progression to dialysis was 6 percent in the group given evaluated kidneys from older donors, 7 percent among those given kidneys from younger donors, and 23 percent among those given non-evaluated kidneys from older donors.
The risk of graft failure is reduced by more than threefold, using an evaluated graft from an older donor, rather than a non-evaluated one.
Preimplantation assessment of kidneys was associated with significantly better survival, in both the overall and older donor group analysis.
According to Dr. Francis L. Delmonico and Dr. James F. Burdick, the heads of major transplantation organizations in the US, comment in a related editorial "This Italian group reports results that are relevant to increasing the rate of successful kidney transplantation anywhere in the world."
SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine.
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