Graft survival rate in pediatric renal transplantation: A single center experience

Objective: Renal transplantation is the best option for treatment of the end-stage renal diseases and has more advantages than dialysis. The objective of this study was to determine the ten-year graft survival rate of renal transplantation and its contributing factors among a group of Iranian patients aged 18 years or younger. Methodology: In a retrospective cohort we aimed to study the ten-year graft survival rate of renal transplantation and its contributing factors among pediatric patients who have been transplanted from March 1999 to March 2009 in Shiraz Namazi Hospital Transplantation Center, southern Iran. Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine the survival rate, log rank test to compare survival curves, and Cox regression model to determine hazard ratios and to model variables affecting survival. Results: The 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 year-graft survival rates were 96.8, 88.8, 82.8, 78.1, 78.1 percent, respectively. Cox regression model revealed that the duration of hospitalization was one of the important factors in graft survival rate in renal transplantation. Conclusion: In this study, the 10 year-graft survival rate for pediatric renal transplantation was 78.1%. Graft survival was significantly related to hospital stay after the operation. Donor source, cold ischemia time, immunosuppressive drugs regimen, time to diuresis, and cause of ESRD did not influence the survival rate.