Weight plays key role in kidney transplants

LONDON - A new study led by French researchers has revealed that matching up the weight of donors and recipients boosts success in kidney transplants.

During the study, researchers followed over 1,000 transplant patients and found that those receiving a small kidney in comparison to their weight were more at risk of complications like high blood pressure, kidney scarring, and a 55 percent increased risk of transplant failure two years after the operation.

In the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the researchers said the findings would give surgeons a new chance to improve long-term survival, reports bbc.co.uk.

Professor Jean Paul Soulillou, from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, led the study and said from a clinical point of view the impact of the finding was similar to when researchers identified markers to enable tissue type to be matched to reduce the risk of rejection.

“This information is potentially useful for thousands of transplants and provides a new opportunity to improve long-term graft survival,” he added.