DOI: 10.1093/ndt/gfh1008 The impact of donor age on the results of renal transplantation

Background. The use of elderly donors is becoming more frequent. An increase in the donor’s age is associated with a greater incidence of delayed graft function (DGF), chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) and worse graft survival. Poor renal graft function is a risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) complications and, finally, for mortality of the patients. Methods. A total of 3365 adult patients transplanted in 1990 (n 824), 1994 (n 1075) and 1998 (n 1466) with a functioning graft after the first year were included. The impact of donor age on renal function, DGF, acute rejection and other clinical factors was evaluated according to two donor and recipient age categories: young (<60 years old) and elderly (6