Kidneys of Diabetics Can Be Transplanted to Save Lives

The best chance of survival, for older patients, those who live in areas with long waits for transplantation might be to accept kidneys from a diabetic donor.

Accepting a kidney from a deceased diabetic donor might do some good to those who have been waiting for a healthy organ.

There are more than 98,000 people currently awaiting a kidney transplant in the United States. But the organs are in short supply: only about 17,000 patients will receive transplants each year.

About Transplantation
Since the early times, the novel idea of transplanting tissues and other body parts from one organism to the other has captured the imagination of successive generations.

‘Patients, who are over the age of 40 or those who already have diabetes, should consider accepting a kidney from a deceased diabetic donor when available, in order to increase their chances of being transplanted sooner, and increasing their survival.’

In a study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, have found that the best chance of survival, for older patients, those who live in areas with long waits for transplantation, or those who already have diabetes, may come from accepting a kidney from a deceased donor who had diabetes.

"Most often, these organs are considered 'high-risk' as diabetes is a risk factor for kidney disease, and there may be underlying kidney damage that is not detected in initial organ screenings prior to transplantation," said lead author Jordana Cohen, MD, MSCE, an instructor of Medicine in the division of Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension.

"However, there are many patients on the wait list who will die before they receive a kidney transplant. For these patients, based on this study, their best chance of survival and of having a better quality of life may come from accepting this kind of organ."

Obstacles to Organ Donation in India: Q&A With Anika Parashar, Co-founder of ORGAN India
Anika Parashar Puri talks about obstacles to organ donation in India and the ORGAN India's approach to increasing the number of organ donor pledges in the country.

Researchers performed an observational study of 437,619 kidney transplant candidates using data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database. They identified 8,101 recipients of diabetic donor kidneys and 126,560 recipients of non diabetic donor kidneys.

The team assessed the risk an adverse event after accepting a diabetic donor kidney as compared to remaining on the waitlist or receiving a non diabetic donor kidney.

Heart Transplant Recipient Wants to Give Back By Spreading the Word About Organ Donation
Inspired by the training program arranged MOHAN Foundation in Chennai, Hvovi Minocherhomji, a Mumbai-based heart transplant recipient, wants to create awareness on organ donation in her home city.

"Our goal was to evaluate the mortality risk of transplantation with diabetic donor kidneys compared to remaining on the kidney transplant waitlist, and to determine which patients would benefit most from transplantation with these organs," said senior author Deirdre L. Sawinski.

"In this analysis, we were able to determine that kidney transplant candidates who are at highest risk of dying on the wait list, such as the elderly, patients with diabetes themselves, and those at centers with the longest average waiting times, benefit most from transplantation with diabetic donor kidneys, with a nearly 10 percent improvement in long term survival."

MOHAN Foundation, Indian NGO, Makes Strides in Organ Donation and Awarded Prestigious British Medical Journal South Asia Award 2015
MOHAN Foundation has been awarded the British Medical Journal South Asia Award 2015 in the Healthcare Advocacy category for its efforts to promote organ donation.

The team also found that poor quality diabetic donor kidneys, as determined by a donor index that takes into account factors such as donor age and kidney function, provide no survival benefit, and that younger kidney transplant candidates--those under age 40 years old--do not benefit from transplantation with diabetic donor kidneys.

While kidneys from diabetic donors may not last as long or work as well as kidneys from non-diabetic donors, the initial survival benefits seem to outweigh these risks.

Sawinski added that "patients, who are over the age of 40 or those who already have diabetes, should consider accepting a kidney from a deceased diabetic donor when available, in order to increase their chances of being transplanted sooner, and increasing their survival."

Source-Eurekalert