| [ Summary ] |
Kidney transplantation is the only way to replace complete kidney function as renal replacement therapy. The number of patients undergoing chronic dialysis therapy is more than 320,000 in Japan, but that undergoing kidney transplantation in 2016 was approximately 1,600, and more than 80 % of kidney transplants were from living donors. The 5-year survival rate of kidney grafts was 94.5 % from living donors and 87.3 % from deceased donors. Of all living kidney transplantations, 33 % were ABO blood group-incompatible cases, 43 % were transplantations between husband and wife, and 34 % were preemptive transplantations without chronic dialysis. Organ transplantation should be performed from deceased donors. Twenty years have passed since the establishment of the organ transplant law, and 8 years have passed since the revision, but the number of deceased donors has not increased. Conversely, opportunities for kidney transplantation from deceased donors are decreasing. |