Outcomes of kidney transplantation are better in Spain than the US, a study finds

Patients who receive a kidney transplant in Spain are less likely to lose the graft and to die than those in the US, a study has found.

The researchers, transplant experts from both countries, say that the risk of losing a graft six to 11 years after transplantation was 75% to 89% higher in US patients compared with Spanish patients (P<0.001) while the risk of the recipient dying was 114% to 145% higher in the US cohort (P<0.001). The findings were presented at two national scientific congresses of transplant experts and nephrologists in Spain.

The study, which has been led by Akinlolu Ojo, from the University of Michigan Health System, concludes that …