Abstract:
Background. Kidney transplantation is the best treatment method for end-stage renal
disease. Outcomes of the preemptive kidney transplantation are better than nonpreemptive
kidney transplantation. Preemptive kidney transplantation is performed as a
small percentage of kidney transplantations worldwide. We performed 15 preemptive
kidney transplantations from living donors between November 2010 and April 2014. We
present our experiences and outcomes for these 15 preemptive kidney transplantations.
Methods. We performed 110 kidney transplantations between November 2010 and April
2014. Fifteen of the kidney transplantations were performed from living related donors to
preemptive recipients. These 15 preemptive recipients and their donors’ data were
collected and retrospectively analyzed.
Results. The mean age of recipients and donors was 37.2 years (range, 4e60) and 50.6 years
(range, 28e64), respectively. The male-female ratios were 10:5 in the recipients and 8:7 in the
donors. Nine left kidneys and 6 right kidneys were recovered. Nine kidneys had a single
artery; the other 6 kidneys had 2 renal arteries. The mean warm ischemic time was 219.5
seconds (range, 90e480). The mean hospitalization times were 5.9 days (range, 4e10) and 4.9
days (range, 3e9) for the recipients and the donors, respectively. The mean follow-up time
was 20.3 months (range, 0.5e37) for recipients. Graft survival was 100% in this period. BK
virus nephropathy occurred in only 1 pediatric recipient. One patient had a recurrent disease
that was the cause of the renal failure. They graft functions were stable. No kidney was lost
from rejection, technical causes, infection, or recurrent disease. The donors live their lives
with no problems.
Conclusions. Preemptive kidney transplantation is a better therapeutic option than is
non-preemptive kidney transplantation for patients with chronic renal failure. Kidney
transplantation should be performed if possible before beginning dialysis for these patients.
