Transplant survival boost

Monday January 13th, 2014

Organ transplant patients in the UK are enjoying improved survival in spite of surgeons taking greater risks about which organs to use, a report has revealed.

Doctors have sought to increase the number of transplants by increasing the age of donors and accepting organs from donors with chronic conditions.

A report notes that donors have become "older and heavier."

The report, from the UK National Transplant Registry, says this has been more than out-weighed by advances in transplant techniques.

Ana analysis by senior clinicians finds that more than 84% of patients who had new kidneys between 2003 and 2005 lived for at least five years with their new organs.

The rate for livers was more than 68% and for heart transplants more than 67%. For lungs it was 52%. Survival rates varied according to whether organs were used after circulatory death or brain death.

The researchers Rachel Johnson, Lisa Bradbury, Kate Martin and James Neuberger write: "Developments in organ preservation and retrieval, in surgical and anaesthetic management and postoperative care, immunosuppressant and tolerance have all contributed not only to better outcomes but to making transplantation more accessible as surgeons accept older and higher risk recipients and as more contraindications (such as infection with hepatitis B virus or HIB) have been removed."

They add: "Despite a recent fall in the number of patients on the transplant waiting list, there remains a significant gap between the need for transplantation and the number of organs available from deceased and living donors."

Transplantation January 2014

Tags: Heart Health | Internal Medicine | Transplant | UK News

Printer friendly page