When are you too old to get a kidney transplants?

Abstract

Purpose of review 

With the increasing incidence and prevalence of ESRD in the elderly, we are now transplanting more elderly patients. Although we know from previous reports that transplantation provides increased survival advantage and/or quality of life when compared to being on dialysis, we also know that transplantation is not the best option for all patients. In this review, we try to identify the upper age limit (if any) for deceased donor renal transplantation, predictive factors that can identify the risks for transplant outcomes, frailty, and immunosenescence.

Recent findings 

Review of data over the last 5 years have identified certain risk predictors and outcomes that might be helpful in evaluation of the elderly transplant recipient, which we aim to summarize in this review.

Summary 

Identifying predictors to risk stratify elderly patients and promote transplantation is much needed. Modifiable risks should be addressed to ensure more candidates become transplantable. A combination of physical, medical, and immunological markers to better identify recipients is imperative for future research gearing towards precision medicine.