• Miklos Z Molnar, Elani Streja, Csaba P Kovesdy, Anuja Shah, Edmund Huang, Suphamai Bunnapradist, Mahesh Krishnan, Joel D Kopple, and Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh.
• Harold Simmons Center for Chronic Disease Research & Epidemiology, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA 90509-2910, USA.
• Am. J. Kidney Dis. 2012 Jun 1;59(6):841-8.

BackgroundRecent studies show a survival advantage with kidney transplant in elderly patients compared with those on dialysis therapy.Study DesignIn our present study, we examined and compared the association of expanded criteria donor (ECD) kidney and living kidney donation with the outcome of kidney transplant across different ages, including elderly recipients.Setting & ParticipantsUsing the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, we identified 145,470 adult kidney transplant patients. Mortality and death-censored transplant failure risks were estimated by Cox proportional regression analyses during follow-up with a median of 3.9 years.PredictorsECD kidney and living kidney donation and age compared with others.OutcomesMortality and death-censored transplant failure risk.ResultsPatients were aged 45 ± 16 years and included 40% women and 19% patients with diabetes. Compared with transplant recipients 55 to younger than 65 years, the fully adjusted death-censored transplant failure risk was higher in patients 75 years and older (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.09-1.56), 35 to younger than 55 years (HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.08-1.17), and 18 to younger than 35 years (HR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.57-1.71). Compared with non-ECD kidneys, ECD kidneys were significant predictors of mortality in nonelderly patients (18-<35 years: HR, 1.46 [95% CI, 1.19-1.77]; 35-<55 years: HR, 1.23 [95% CI, 1.14-1.32]; and 55-<65 years: HR, 1.26 [95% CI, 1.15-1.38]) and patients 65 to younger than 70 years (HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.05-1.36), but not in other groups of elderly patients (HRs of 1.12 [95% CI, 0.93-1.36] for 70-<75 years and 1.04 [95% CI, 0.74-1.47] for ≥75 years). Similar results were found for risk of transplant loss. Compared with deceased donor kidneys, a living donor kidney was associated with better survival in all age groups and lower transplant loss risk in patients younger than 70 years.LimitationsUnmeasured confounders cannot be adjusted for.ConclusionsFor deceased donors, ECD kidneys are not associated with increased mortality or transplant failure in recipients older than 70 years. For all types of donors, the persistent association between living donor kidneys and lower all-cause mortality across all ages suggests that, if possible, elderly patients gain longevity from living donor kidney transplant.Copyright © 2012 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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