Abstract:

BACKGROUND: The donors from “marginal” kidneys have been accepted to partly solve the problem between limited supply and increasing demand.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the safety of living-related donor kidney transplantation from donors above 65 years old and the middle- and long-term clinical efficacy.
METHODS: The clinical data of seven pairs of donors and recipients who underwent living-related donor kidney transplantation from donors ≥ 65 years old and were followed up for 36-64 months. 
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The donors and recipients recovered smoothly post-surgery with no severe complications. The function of kidney grafts recovered to normal within 1 week after surgery, the kidney function of donors was improved compared with prior to surgery, but it was within normal range. No acute rejection was found. Five recipients survived with normal kidney graft for 36-64 months, and two cases died one year after surgery. All donors survived with no proteinuria or hypertension, but with normal kidney transplantation. These findings suggest that kidney grafts from donors ≥65 years old may be allowed for living-related donor kidney transplantation after strict screening, which can expand the donor pool in the clinic.