Outcome of kidney transplantation in Canadian Aboriginal children in the province of British Columbia

Renal transplantation remains the therapy of choice for children and adolescents with ESRD. Differences in graft survival are observed in kidney transplant recipients of different race and ethnicities. Data in pediatric populations are limited and confounded by disparities in access to health care. We performed a retrospective single Canadian centre database review to determine the short- and long-term outcomes of kidney transplantation in Aboriginal children compared to non-Aboriginals. A total of 159 primary renal transplant recipients at BCCH between 1985 and 2005 were examined (15% Aboriginal). Aboriginal children had different etiologies of ESRD, and a higher percentage of females, but were similar in age at transplantation, cold ischemia time and living donation rate. Early graft outcomes such as delayed graft function, episodes of acute rejection in the first year post-transplant and estimated glomerular function rate at one yr were similar in both groups. Long-term graft survival, however, was significantly worse in the Aboriginal group, with a significantly increased rate of late rejections: 50% compared with 26.7% among non-Aboriginals (p = 0.03). In a province with uniform access to health care, significant differences in long-term graft outcome exist among Aboriginal children compared with non-Aboriginals.