OPTN/SRTR 2016 Annual Data Report: Kidney

TLDR

2016 data show improving allograft survival, a first-decade drop in active candidates, and rising deceased donor transplants, while transplant rates stabilize post‑2014 allocation changes and persistent challenges such as stagnant living donor rates and geographic and racial disparities remain. In 2016, pediatric kidney transplants from living donors fell to 34.2% (down from 47.2% in 2005), with a sharp decline in related donors and only 50 unrelated directed transplants, highlighting a concerning drop in living donor contributions.

Abstract

Data from 2016 show ongoing positive trends in short- and long-term allograft survival, and a decrease in the number of active listed candi- dates for the first time in more than a decade, with a concomitant in- crease in deceased donor kidney transplants. Transplant rates that had changed dramatically for some groups after implementation of the new kidney allocation system in 2014 are stabilizing, allowing for evaluation of new steady states and trends. Many challenges remain in adult kid- ney transplantation, including stagnant rates of living donor transplant, geographic disparities in access to transplant, racial disparities in living donor transplant, and overall a continuing demand for kidneys that far outpaces the supply. For pediatric recipients, a decline in the proportion of living donor transplants is of concern. In 2016, only 34.2% of pediatric transplants were from living donors, compared with 47.2% in 2005. The number of related donors decreased dramatically over the past decade, and the number of unrelated directed transplants performed in pediatric candidates remained low (50).