Ten years anniversary of the Dutch kidney exchange program

M. de Klerk, M.G.H. Betjes, B.J.J.M. Haase-Kromwijk, F.H.J. Claas, W. Weimar
Moderator(s): S.A. Nurmohamed en M. Seelen
Location(s): Grote zaal
Category:
The Dutch kidney exchange program is now active for 10 years. Within this program all eight kidney transplant centers are collaborating. Here we describe the outcome of all patients that were enrolled in our program. Methods: Data on registration, immunization, computerized matching, cross matching, and transplantations within or outside the program were collected. Results: From January 2004 till December 2013 612 pairs were registered. The median input of new pairs per year was 62 (49-74). In total after 10 years 38% of the participants received a kidney within an exchange procedure, 39% of the recipients were transplanted outside the program (95 with an alternative living donor, 65 with a deceased donor and 79 in a domino-paired procedure) 14% of the couples were delisted and 9% are still waiting. Over the years we noticed a shift towards more registered patients transplanted outside the program due to increasing rates of ABO incompatible and domino-paired procedures . We observed a difference in the immunisation rate between patients transplanted within or outside the program: 56% (130/231) patients transplanted within the program were immunized (PRA>5%) compared to 38% (92/239) patients transplanted outside the program. Conclusion: In the 10 years of our kidney exchange program 470/612 (77%) of the participating recipients were actually transplanted. Approximately half of them (231/470, 49%) received a kidney within the exchange program of which 56% were immunized patients. The exchange program is highly successful especially for immunized patients.