Long‐term outcome of pediatric renal transplantation with donors younger than 6 years

Background Renal transplantation is currently the best treatment option for patients with end‐stage renal disease. However, the use of kidneys from donors under 6 years of age as a possibility to increase the organ pool in pediatric recipients remains a controversial matter. We aimed to investigate whether donor age is associated to the long‐term functionality of the renal graft. Likewise, we analyzed the adaptation of the graft to the ascending functional requirements in the pediatric patient. Methods Retrospective study of the results obtained in pediatric recipients transplanted with grafts from donors between 3 and 6 years of age, comparing them with those of grafts from donors older than 6 years. Among the variables compared are cumulative graft survival, renal size, need for antiproteinuric therapy, GFR, incidence of rejection, pyelonephritis, renal failure and surgical or tumor complications. Results A total of 43 transplants were performed with donors aged 3–6 years, and 42 transplants with donors older than 6 years. Cumulative graft survival at 5 years was 81% for the younger donor group compared to 98% for the older donor group (p