Donation and Transplantation of Kidneys Harvested From Deceased Donors Over the Age of 60 Years in the Upper Silesia Region

• High cardiovascular comorbidity in deceased donors aged ≥60 years reduced kidney retrieval rate.
• The function of kidneys from donors aged ≥60 years was worse compared with kidneys from donors aged 40–59 years.
• In 1-year follow-up, kidney graft and recipient survivals did not differ between the analyzed groups.

BackgroundPopulation aging and shortage of organs for transplantation result in increasing numbers of kidneys retrieved from elderly donors. The aim of this study was to analyze donation of kidneys from donors after brain death (DBD) over the age of 60 years (≥60), comorbidities that affect decisions on retrieval, and early results of kidney transplantation.MethodsNinety-six potential DBD ≥60 and 309 aged 40–59 years (40–59) reported in Upper Silesia, Poland, from 2004 to 2013 were enrolled in the study.ResultsDBD >60 presented a higher rate of coexisting hypertension (53% vs 34%), limb ischemia (10% vs 1%), and past stroke (6% vs 1%) compared with DBD 40–59 (P < .05), but no differences were observed in serum creatinine concentration (85 vs 84 μmol/L), coexisting coronary disease (14% vs 6%), or diabetes (10% vs 4%). The decision of withdrawal from retrieval was more frequent in DBD ≥60 (16% vs 7%; P < .05). Twelve months after kidney transplantation, serum creatinine concentration was higher in recipients of kidneys from DBD ≥60 compared with DBD 40–59 (169 vs 138 μmol/L; P < .001). The survivals of recipients (93% vs 95%) and kidney grafts (90% vs 93%) as well as rates of proteinuria >1.0 g/24 h (6% vs 2%) did not differ between the groups.ConclusionsA higher rate of comorbidities in potential kidney DBD ≥60 results in a lower retrieval rate in these donors. The function of kidneys harvested from DBD ≥60 12 months after transplantation is worse than those from DBD 40–59, but still acceptable.