BACKGROUND: Although short-term renal allograft survival in children has improved over the years, long-term graft outcomes remain unclear. In this study we report the characteristics and other variables that impact long-term kidney graft survival in children.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Records of 61 pediatric kidney transplant recipients (mean age: 14±3 years) performed at our institution between 1995 and 2011 were evaluated. Patients were divided into 2 groups (functional and non-functional grafts) to investigate the factors that impact graft survival. The groups were compared in terms of recipient characteristics, underlying disease, HLA status, immunosuppressive therapy, donor characteristics, acute rejection, and delayed graft function (DGF). Statistical significance was detected with the t and chi-squared tests (Pearson and Fisher’s exact tests). Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed for graft survival.

RESULTS: Overall graft survival at 1, 5, 10, and 15 years were 93%, 66%, 46%, and 41%, respectively. The median graft survival was 128.4 months (range: 3–188 months). Donor age, acute rejection, and DGF strongly predicted the chance of graft survival (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: It appears that several modifiable risk factors can partially account for poorer graft survival in pediatric kidney transplant recipients.

Keywords: Graft Survival, pediatric kidney transplantation, Donor Age, acute rejection, Delayed Graft Function