Short-term kidney transplant outcomes among African American recipients do not predict long-term outcomes: donor pair analysis

Abstract

African American (AA) renal transplant recipients have poorer graft survival compared to other racial and ethic groups. This study was undertaken to determine whether pre-transplant factors and events occurring in the first six months post-transplant were predictive of the poorer long-term outcomes in AA recipients. To control for kidney quality, a paired analysis of deceased donor kidneys in which one donor kidney was transplanted into an adult AA recipient and the other was transplanted into an adult Caucasian was undertaken. Cox proportional hazard modeling was used to determine the impact of outcome variables at six months. Outcomes at six months among the paired recipients were very similar for graft and patient survival, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Less than 10% of difference in long-term outcomes was explained by differences in the pre-transplant covariates and events in the first six months. Causes of graft failure after six months revealed a two to three times higher rate of chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) and late acute rejection among AA. In conclusion, early outcomes after kidney transplant did not predict the poor long-term graft survival among AA, and AA recipients appear to be more prone to graft loss because of CAN and late acute rejection.