Kidney transplantation

Abstract

In 2002 in the United States, 431,281 patients received treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD), including 308,910 on dialysis and 122,374 with a functioning renal transplant.1 The prevalence of ESRD is increasing at an annual rate of 4%, down from 9% a decade ago. In 2004, there were 15,977 renal transplants performed in the United States, and two-thirds of renal transplant patients are now alive 5 years after transplantation, compared to one-third on either hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. The 1-year mortality of renal transplant patients is 6% for deceased donor recipients and 3% for living donor kidney recipients compared to 25% for patients treated with dialysis, reflecting the fact that transplant recipients represent a relatively healthier subset of patients with ESRD compared to dialysis patients.2 Nevertheless, the death rate on dialysis is higher than after transplantation even after adjusting for patient characteristics.3 © 2008 Springer New York.