Introduction. Previous studies of renal transplantation in children have focused on the survival of grafts and patients. Little information is available about the cause of renal disease or the sources of donated organs. The aim of this study was to identify the diseases that require transplantation and to analyze factors that affect the success of transplantation in children.
Methods. We collected data from pediatric hemodialysis center between 1997 and 2007. These data included information about demographic characteristics of the patients, graft function, and rate of graft rejection.
Results. Totally, 242 children with end stage renal diseases were managed at our hemodiaysis center, and 53 children received renal transplantation during this period. Sixty-two percent of the transplanted kidneys came from a living donor (82% unrelated donor, 18% related donor), and 38 percent from a cadaver. The major causes of renal failure that led to transplantation were reflux nephropathy (28%), neurogenic bladder (15%), glomerulonphritis (13%), nephrolitiasis (9%), and nephrotic syndrome (5%). Mean age at transplantation was 13.1.
Conclusion. The most common causes of end-stage renal disease in children and adolescents in our center were reflux nephropaty and neurogenic bladder. The rate of graft survival was the same in patients who received a kidney from a living unrelated donor and those who received a kidney from a cadaver. Our study suggests that living related donor is superior to other options and must be encouraged whenever available.