Current status of pediatric kidney transplantation in China: data analysis of Chinese Scientific Registry of Kidney Transplantation

Background Kidney transplantation (KTx) is the primary therapy for children with renal failure. Unlike KTx in adult patients, it is commonly agreed that pediatric KTx in China is far behind that of America. There has been no systematic analysis of Chinese pediatric KTx reported. This study aimed to demonstrate the current status of pediatric KTx in China. Methods Registry data of pediatric KTx (1983-2012) from Chinese Scientific Registry of Kidney Transplantation (CSRKT) were retrospectively analyzed. Results There were 851 pediatric KTx from 102 transplant units. The recipients were (15.4±2.5) years of age, 93.9% of who were over 10 years old. Chronic glomerulonephritis and pyelonephritis accounted for 75.6% of recognized primary diseases. Allografts were from deceased donors (72.2%) or living donation (27.7%). The patient survival for 1, 3, 5, and 10 years was 96.9%, 94.2%, 92.3%, and 92.3% and the graft survival was 94.6%, 91.4%, 86.3%, and 79.2%, respectively. The majority of post-transplant complications were acute rejection and infections. Annual transplant reached the peak in 2008 (n=114), and decreased sharply in 2006 (n=41) and 2010 (n=57). The percentage of pediatric KTx in total KTx was highest in 2007 (1.95%) and decreased to trough level in 2010 (1.0%). Living donation increased by 32.5-folds from 2004 to 2008 and then decreased by 86.6% till 2010. The percentage of living donation in pediatric or total KTx dynamically changed in a similar manner, while living donation ratio in pediatric KTx was much higher. Conclusions Kidney transplant can provide long-term benefits to pediatric recipients. Rejection and infections are worthy of concern during follow-up. Pediatric kidney transplant in China is very much lagging behind that in developed countries. Living donation played an important role in its development in the past decades. New strategies for implementation are encouraged to increase the priority of uremic children in organ allocation so as to promote its progress in China.