Background: An increasing number of patients are requiring multiple retransplants. We assessed outcomes of third and fourth kidney transplants, to aid decision making on the most suitable donor type.
Methods: Data were collected retrospectively for 2561 transplants, including 69 third and 8 fourth, performed from 2000 to 2017. Demographics and outcomes for the combined third/fourth group were compared to first and second transplants. Within the third/fourth kidney transplant group, comparisons were made between deceased donors (n = 39), live donor HLA-compatible (n = 23) and -incompatible (n = 13) transplants, as well as between standard (n = 25) and extended-criteria (n = 14) deceased donor transplants.
Results: Patient survival did not differ significantly by transplant number (P = 0.532), whereas death-censored graft survival declined progressively, from 89% at 5 years in first, 85% in second and 74% in the third/fourth transplant group (P < 0.001). Within the combined third/fourth transplant subgroup, 5-year graft survival was found to be 100% in recipients of HLA-compatible live donors, compared to 75% in deceased donors and 53% in HLA-incompatible live donors, although this difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.083). No significant difference in patient survival (P = 0.356) or complication rates (P = 0.757) were detected between these groups. For recipients of deceased donors in the third/fourth transplant group, there were no significant differences between standard versus extended-criteria donors for any of the outcomes considered.
Conclusions: Despite variable functional outcomes, third and fourth kidney transplant recipients experience comparable patient survival rates to first and second transplants, regardless of the donor type. In selected patients, HLA-incompatible live donors and extended-criteria deceased donors should be considered.