A Half-Century 3000 Cases of Kidney Transplant Experiences in a Single Hospital: the Longest Registry in Korea

Background This study aims to analyze the entire registry of kidney transplant over the past 50 years and understand the clinical significance. Methods From the data on 3012 kidney transplants performed at our center between March 1969 and September 2018, we analyzed retrospectively clinical variables. Results Until September 2018, there have been 3012 kidney transplants performed. The number of primary transplant cases was 2755 (91.8%), which included 16 cases of simultaneous liver-kidney transplant, and the number of repeated transplants was 245 (225 second transplants [7.5%] and 20 third transplants [0.7%]). There were 3 simultaneous pancreas kidney transplants, and 3 small bowel–kidney transplants, one of them being transplanted at the same time. There was a single simultaneous heart-kidney transplant. The viability rates of a transplanted kidney for 1, 5, 10, 20, and 30 years were 97%, 92%, 90%, 51%, and 36%, respectively, and the patient survival rates were 96%, 89%, 82%, 64%, and 52%, respectively. Five-year graft survival rate of the first 1000 cases was 64.6%; those of the 1001st to 2000th cases and 2001st to 3012th cases were 87.6% and 88.8%, respectively. There are statistically significant differences among the groups. Conclusion This study has identified the appropriate selection or control of immunotherapy, based on the risk level of kidney transplant recipient, is needed to minimize chronic rejection, which is the key cause of transplanted kidney failure.