Renal transplantation: Seventeen years of follow-up in Qatar

Among 432 patients receiving renal transplants (RT) between 1986 and 2002, 238 were Qatari nationals and 194, expatriates of mixed nationalities. Since 1986 when we started a local transplant program, 70 cases were performed at our center and 362 abroad. Diabetic nephropathy was the most common cause of end-stage renal disease among Qatar and chronic glomerulonephritis among expatriate patients. New-onset diabetes was reported after the transplant operation in 7.3% of the cases. Recipient age ranged from 14 to 75 years with the mean of 48.5 years among diabetics and 34.5 years among nondiabetics. Acute rejection occurred in 19.2% with chronic allograft nephropathy in 16.2% of cases. Two-year survival rates at our center versus the abroad units were 98% and 97% for patients and 85.7% and 82.5% for grafts respectively. The mortality was mainly related to myocardial infarction, which occurred significantly more often among diabetics. Other causes of mortality, such as sepsis, hepatic failure, and cytomegalovirus infection, did not differ significantly between diabetic and nondiabetic patients. The donor source at our center was living related (78.6%), cadaver (18.5%), and living unrelated (2.9%) as compared to 29.3%, 6.6%, and 64.1% of those performed abroad, respectively. The 5-year survivals among living-unrelated allografts performed abroad was 45.2% compared to 64.3% in living-related and cadaveric donors. Despite the disappointing results, the existing shortage of local kidney donors persuades our patients to go abroad for living-unrelated transplants. Educational programs and incentives are recommended to increase the supply of cadaver organs.