Korean J Intern Med.  2010 Sep;25(3):288-293. 10.3904/kjim.2010.25.3.288.

Changing Donor Source Pattern for Kidney Transplantation over 40 Years: A Single-Center Experience

• Chung BH
• Jung MH
• Bae SH
• Kang SH
• Hwang HS
• Hyoung BJ
• Lee SY
• Jeon YJ
• Choi BS
• Park CW
• Kim YS
• Kim JI
• Moon IS
• Yang CW

• KMID: 1776610
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2010.25.3.288

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Kidney transplantations at our center rely mainly on living donors. The purpose of this study was to suggest future donor supply directions by reviewing changing trends in donor type.
METHODS
During the past 40 years, 1,690 kidney transplantations were performed at our center. We divided the follow-up period into four decades and the donor population into three groups: living related, living unrelated, and deceased. We analyzed changing trends in donors from each group for each decade. Patients receiving overseas transplantation were also included.
RESULTS
The proportion of living related donors decreased from 84% (54/64) in the 1970s to 61% (281/458) in the 2000s. Living unrelated donors showed a sustained proportion of around 20% after 1990. However, among living unrelated donors, the proportion of spouse donors increased from 4.6% (17/369) in the 1980s to 8.5% (39/458) in the 2000s. Transplants from deceased donors were only 3.3% (12/369) in the 1980s. However the proportion of deceased donors increased gradually, reaching 13.2% (105/799) in the 1990s and 19.9% (91/458) after 2000. Overseas transplantations increased after 2000 and reached 20% of all cases treated in our center during the 2000s. Such transplantations peaked in 2006 and decreased markedly thereafter.
CONCLUSIONS
The proportion of each donor type has continuously changed, and the changes were associated with changes in the social structure and system. We expect that this study could be an important reference for other countries to estimate future changes of donor type.

Keyword

Kidney transplantation; Donor

MeSH Terms

Adult
Female
History, 20th Century
History, 21st Century
Humans
Kidney Transplantation/*history/statistics & numerical data/trends
Korea
Living Donors/history/statistics & numerical data
Male
Middle Aged
Tissue Donors/*history/statistics & numerical data
Tissue and Organ Procurement/history/statistics & numerical data/trends