Kidney transplant recipients are living longer, and their transplanted kidneys are lasting longer, said researchers from the University of Wisconsin (UW) School of Medicine and Public Health and the UW Health Transplant Center, led by Sandesh Parajuli, MBBS. This success can be attributed to advances in patient care and improved immunosuppression strategies and organ preservation techniques.
The team conducted a single-center, observational study that examined the outcomes of 12,000 kidney transplants performed at the UW Health Transplant Center. The results were published in Transplantation Direct. The first adult kidney transplant at UW took place in 1966, and the volume of transplants performed since then gave researchers a unique look at the evolving landscape of kidney transplantation.
Transplant recipients were analyzed by decade of date of transplant: 1966-1975, 1976-1985, 1986-1995, 1996-2005, 2006-2015, and 2016-2022. The outcomes of interest were death-censored graft failure and mortality. Of 12,000 kidneys, 247 were transplanted from 1966 to 1975, 1147 from 1976 to 1985, 2194 from 1986 to 1995, 3147 from 1996 to 2005, 3046 from 2006 to 2015, and 2219 from 2016 to 2022.
Compared with 1966-1975, there were statistically significant decreases in the risk of death, return to dialysis, or need for another transplant at 1 year, 5 years, and at last follow-up in all the subsequent eras. Mortality at 1 year was lower in all subsequent eras after 1986-1995, but there was no difference in mortality at 5 years or the last follow-up between eras. Improvements in long-term survival were notable; 565 patients, or 14%, retained the same kidney for more than 25 years.
The study’s authors concluded, “In this large cohort of 12,000 kidneys from a single center, we observed significant improvement in outcomes over time. Kidney transplantation remains a robust and ever-growing and improving field.”
Source: Transplantation Direct
© 2025 Mashup Media, LLC, a Formedics Property. All Rights Reserved.