Temporal Changes in Deceased Kidney Donor Characteristics in Australia

BACKGROUND Demand for deceased donor kidneys has exceeded supply in Australia over the past 2 decades. With a desire to use as many donor organs as possible, the health characteristics of accepted donors may have changed over time. METHODS All deceased kidney donors actually transplanted in Australia between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 2013, were retrospectively analyzed, using data from the Australian and New Zealand Organ Donor Registry. RESULTS Of 4172 deceased donors, 57% were men. Mean donor age increased from 37.2 ± 16.8 years to 46.1 ± 17.7 years over time, and donor numbers increased from 162 in 1994 to 334 in 2013. As the primary cause of death, motor vehicle accidents decreased from 27% to 12%, whereas cerebral pathology persisted at 50%. There was an increase in the proportion of donors with hypertension (12% to 24%), diabetes (2% to 7%), and an increase in mean body mass index (24.4 ± 4.4 kg/m2 to 27.5 ± 6.3 kg/m2) between 1994 and 2013. These changes were reflected by an increase in the median kidney donor risk index from 1.08 (interquartile range, 0.85-1.25) to 1.32 (interquartile range, 0.95-1.53). The proportion of medically higher risk donors increased over time. CONCLUSIONS Because deceased kidney donor numbers have increased, the range of donor quality has broadened, with an increase in both the proportion and number of high-risk donors, as well as a decline in donor quality. These data highlight the need for kidney allocation algorithms to evolve to ensure appropriate allocation of deceased donor kidneys.