Pediatric Kidney Transplantation: A Single Center Experience With 134 Procedures

Renal transplantation confers substantial benefits on children with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), including improved growth as well as longer and better quality of life. The aim of this study was to report our experience with 134 pediatric renal transplantations. Epidemiological and clinical data of all patients transplanted who were younger than 18 years between January 1984 and May 2012 were collected from our prospective database. One hundred twenty-four patients (44% female) underwent 134 renal transplantations. Renal insufficiency was secondary to urological obstructive uropathy (46%), nephropathy (34%), and other causes (20%). Mean age at the time of the surgery was 13 years. Mean time of ESRD was 25 months. One hundred seventeen patients (95%) received cadaveric renal allografts. Mean cold ischemia time was 1302 minutes. Mean donor age was 19.7 years. Mean length of hospital stay was 17 days. Mean follow-up was 122 months. Graft survivals at 5 and 10 years were 84.1 and 71.9%, respectively. Ninety-six percent of kidney recipients were alive; 71% with functioning allografts. Mean current glomerular filtration rate among functioning kidneys is 55 mL/min. Renal transplantation in the pediatric population is a good option for ESRD patients.