Outcome of Single Kidney Transplant From Pediatric Donors Younger Than 5 Years of Age After Cardiac Death in China: A Single Center Experience.

OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to evaluate the outcomes of single kidney transplant from pediatric donors in China younger than 5 years old after cardiac death. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed single renal transplants from pediatric donors of cardiac death between January 2012 and June 2013 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, China. RESULTS Eleven recipients received single kidney transplant from 6 pediatric donors of cardiac death donors at our center (aged, < 5 years). The median donor age was 39 months (range, 17-56 mo). The median donor weight was 14.5 kg (range, 11-20 kg). While the median recipient age was 35 years (range, 12-55 y). The median recipient weight was 42.5 kg (range, 21-55 kg). The recipient serum creatinine level gradually decreased and the 1-year serum creatinine was 77.7 ± 17.6 μmol/L. Delayed graft function occurred in 5 recipients (45.5%), and all of them recovered within 1 month after transplant. No episodes of acute rejection occurred. No vascular thrombosis or stenosis after ureteroneocystostomy was seen. One patient had urine leakage on the eighth day after transplant, and was cured through a ureter reimplantation. The graft size increased significantly the first month after transplant compared with that recorded immediately after reperfusion (P = .011). The 1-year patient/graft survival was 100%. CONCLUSIONS Use of single kidney from pediatric donors after cardiac death (aged, < 5 y) is a safe and effective procedure and can greatly expand the donor pool.