Cadaveric kidneys from infants and toddlers benefit adults in need of transplants

Adults with kidney failure can benefit from cadaveric kidney transplants from infants and toddlers when adult organs are unavailable, according to a study that will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2015 Nov. 3-8 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.

While kidney transplantation is the best treatment for patients with kidney failure, the waiting list for a deceased donor kidney transplant continues to increase. In this era of extreme donor shortage, clinicians led by Jimena Blandon, MD (Cleveland Clinic Florida) present their experience with transplanting cadaveric kidneys from infants and toddlers into adult recipients.

Their retrospective study included 12 adults who received kidneys between 2014 and 2015 from deceased pediatric donors aged 0 to 5 years. All patients were followed on average for 6 months to 1 year. In the early post-transplant period, 9 recipients had transiently elevated urinary sugar levels and pH imbalances. There were no surgical complications, organ failure or rejection, blood vessel complications, or recurrence of kidney disease.

"We report excellent outcomes after adult kidney transplant from cadaveric donor ages 0 to 5 years of age. Younger age and low weight of the donors did not adversely affect our results," the authors concluded.