Does age of recipient affect outcome of renal transplantation?

Background: The outcome of renal transplantation in the elderly, with respect to both patient and graft survival, is not as unambiguous as that in the young. Our aim was to compare the outcomes of kidney transplantation in old and young recipients. Material/Methods: This historical cohort study, conducted at Baqyiatallah Hospital, Tehran, Iran, enrolled 358 young (<60 years old) and 44 old (>60 years old) renal recipients. The main outcomes comprised the subjects' estimated glomerular filtration rate (e-GFR), graft survival (death-censored and death-uncensored), and patient survival at 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 5 years. Additionally, the causes of death were registered in each group. Results: There was no significant difference as regards 6-month, 1-year, and 5-year e-GFR and death-censored graft survival between the elderly and young recipients (p>0.05), but 5-year patient survival and death-uncensored graft survival were significantly worse in the elderly recipients (p<0.05). The frequency of death due to cardiac or cerebrovascular disease was not significantly different between the 2 groups (p>0.05). Conclusions: Given the similar death-censored graft-survival rates in our old and young kidney recipients, it would be ill-advised to exclude transplant candidates on the basis of their age.