Compared with patients on kidney transplant waiting lists who had received a prior kidney transplant, waitlisted patients who had received a prior heart, liver, or lung transplant had a shorter lifespan. The authors recommend selectively targeting such patients for extended criteria donor kidneys, shortening wait time, considering living donor kidney transplants more often in these cases. "According to the authors, researchers should design studies that address practice and policy to include critical factors related to prior organ transplant and to ensure equitable allocation of resources and access to best practices among all kidney transplant candidates.

Study co-authors include Brian Stephany, MD, Marie Budev, DO, David Mason, MD, Charles Miller, MD, Randall Starling, MD, David Goldfarb, MD, Emilio Poggio, MD, Stuart Flechner, MD, and Jesse Schold, PhD (Cleveland Clinic).

Disclosures: The authors reported no financial disclosures.

The article, entitled "An Emerging Population: Kidney Transplant Candidates Who Are Placed on the Waiting List after Liver, Heart, and Lung Transplantation," will appear online at cjasn.asnjournals/ on September 2, 2010, doi 10.2215/CJN.02950410.

Source: American Society of Nephrology