Newswise — It's worth waiting for a kidney transplant, even if the wait may be up to three years, according to a new study being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 37th Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. The study found that patients with kidney failure, who received transplants, lived longer than those who remained on dialysis, even after a long wait.
"Since the waiting period for kidney transplants has become so long, there is concern that the benefit of receiving a transplant is negated by the long waiting period," says the lead author, J.S. Gill, assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, Canada. "To our surprise, the findings show that transplant candidates should receive kidney transplants, regardless of the anticipated waiting period."
This is the first study that examined the effect of increasing wait times for kidney transplants on survival rates among transplant patients. The study involved over 60,000 patients on the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) waiting list from 1995 to 2000. Findings show that although the survival benefit of getting a kidney transplant decreased by almost five months when the waiting times increased from one to three years, patients who received kidney transplants after three years still survived more than seven years longer than those patients who remained on dialysis. The risk of death after a kidney transplant was the same, regardless of wait time.
Due to the short supply of kidney donors, the waiting list for kidney transplants has increased by 43% in the past eight years, as has the waiting period for kidney patients to receive their new organ. The median wait time for getting a kidney transplant is now between one to two years.
Study findings will be highlighted at a news briefing from 12:15 " 1:15 p.m. on Saturday, October 30 in Room 251 of the America's Center. The study abstract, "Transplantation: Is It Worth the Wait?" (SU-FC104) will be presented during a Free Communications session on Sunday, October 31 at 4:30 pm in Room 276 of the America's Center.
The ASN is a not-for-profit organization of 9,000 physicians and scientists dedicated to the study of nephrology and committed to providing a forum for the promulgation of information regarding the latest research and clinical findings on kidney diseases. ASN's Renal Week 2004, the largest nephrology meeting of its kind, will provide a forum for more than 12,000 nephrologists to discuss the latest findings in renal research and engage in educational sessions relating advances in the care of patients with kidney and related disorders from October 27- November 1, 2004 at the America's Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
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