Background: Renal transplantation is now considered the best treatment for end-stage renal failure patients. In view of the worldwide growing waiting list, extending donor age is one of the strategies implemented to make more kidneys available for transplantation.
Methods: From October 1983 to February 2000, 324 renal transplantations were performed at Geneva University Hospital, 68 of which were done with kidneys from donors aged over 50 (mean donor age 55.3 + 4.8 years) The following data were analysed at 1, 5 and 10 years and compared between recipients with donors aged over 50 (> 50 years) and under 50 (< 50 years): actuarial patient and graft survival, serum creatinine, causes of graft loss.
Results: Patient survival at 10 years was 83% with donors < 50 years and 61% with donors > 50 years (non-significant). Graft survival at 10 years was 61% with donors < 50 years and 48% with donors > 50 years (non-significant). Graft survival at 10 years or death with functioning graft was 69% with donors < 50 years and 68% with donors > 50 years (non-significant). Overall, donor age was not a predictive factor for graft survival, as shown by multiple logistic regression.
Conclusions: Kidneys obtained from donors > 50 years are suitable for renal transplantation and yield acceptable graft survival.