[Surgical techniques in renal transplantation]

An update on ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation

ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation is nowadays a well-established procedure to expand living donor transplantation to blood group incompatible donor/recipient constellations. In the last two decades, transplantation protocols evolved to more specific isohaemagglutinin elimination techniques and established competent antirejection protection protocols without the need of splenectomy. ABOi kidney transplantation associated accommodation despite isohaemagglutinin reappearance, C4d positivity of peritubular capillaries as well as the increased incidence of bleeding complications is currently under intense investigation. However, most recent data show excellent graft survival rates equivalent to ABO-compatible kidney transplantation outcome.

[Kidney transplantation in childhood and adolescence. Management of functional disorders and follow-up care of the kidney transplant recipient]

The causes that lead to terminal renal failure in children and adolescents and subsequently require dialysis are different from those in adults. Moreover, children with a functioning kidney transplant evidence an approximately fourfold higher survival probability than children on dialysis. This contribution describes kidney transplantation in light of the specific features for this age group.