Kidney Paired Donation is an Excellent Option for Transplant Candidates, Says Study

Recipients of kidney paired donation through a national program, also called kidney exchange, experience equivalent outcomes when compared with all other living donor kidney transplant recipients.

A national kidney paired donation program is a safe and effective way to treat patients with incompatible living donors, revealed study.

In kidney paired donation, living// donor kidneys are swapped so that each recipient receives a compatible transplant. David B. Leeser, MD (East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine) and his colleagues compared the outcomes of recipients who received kidneys in this way to "control" recipients who received kidneys from other living donors (such as relatives, friends or other paired exchange mechanisms).

Paired Donor Exchange Kidney Transplantation
Paired donor exchange kidney transplantation is a process in which unrelated kidney donors are matched to recipients so that compatible transplants can be performed.

‘Recipients of kidney paired donation through a national program, also called kidney exchange, experience equivalent outcomes when compared with all other living donor kidney transplant recipients. ’

The analysis included 2,363 recipients who received kidneys from the National Kidney Registry, the largest program for kidney paired donation in the world, and 54,497 control recipients. Recipients in the two groups had similar rates of organ failure (5-6%) and mortality (9-10%) over a median follow-up of 3.7 years, with a maximum follow-up of 11 years.

"The study shows that patients can expect equivalent to better outcomes by using the National Kidney Registry. In the future, the transplant community may start to see living donors as a national or community resource that should be shared," said Dr. Leeser. "The result could be the ability to transplant hard to match recipients and even better matching of easy to match recipients. Since organ availability is the limiting factor in kidney transplantation nationwide, the ability to perform kidney transplants with a greater likelihood of surviving for longer periods of time is an imperative that will decrease the number of patients being placed on the waiting list for retransplant."

An accompanying editorial notes that if the early success of the National Kidney Registry is sustained, it may be the program of choice for participation. "The NKR has led the way in technology and innovation, and outcomes demonstrate success for those classically disadvantaged for living donor transplant, including black recipients and those who are highly sensitized," the authors wrote. "The current report on ten years of transplantation in a national paired donor program is encouraging, and may convince more transplant programs to 'buy in' to the National Kidney Registry."

Quiz on Kidney
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist, and are located just below the rib cage, one on each side of your spine.

Healthy kidneys filter about half a cup of blood every minute, removing wastes and extra water to make urine. The urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder through two thin tubes of muscle called ureters, one on each side of your bladder. The bladder stores urine. The kidneys, ureters, and bladder are partof the urinary tract.

kidneys remove wastes and extra fluid from your body. Kidneys also remove acid that is produced by the cells of your body and maintain a healthy balance of water, salts, and minerals-such as sodium, calcium, phosphorus and potassium-in your blood ().

Without this balance, nerves, muscles, and other tissues in the body may not work normally.

Kidneys also make hormones that help

Control your blood pressure
Make red blood cells
Keep your bones strong and healthy

Source-Eurekalert

Reliability of Biopsies from Donated Kidneys Prior to Transplantation Examined
Current decision-making about kidney quality may often be based on misleading information, but that standardizing biopsy techniques may result in more helpful biopsies, suggested new study.

ORGAN DONATION
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