Kidney Transplantation: What’s Hot and What’s New—2nd Edition

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Research".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 August 2025 | Viewed by 742

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Medicine and Innovation Technology (DiMIT), University of Insubria, via Ravasi 2, 21100 Varese, Italy
2. General, Emergency and Transplant Surgery Department, ASST dei Sette Laghi, via Guicciardini 9, 21100 Varese, Italy
Interests: kidney transplantation; robotic surgery; surgical oncology; immunology
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Guest Editor
Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation Unit, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Gastroenterological Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
Interests: kidney transplantation; living donor nephrectomy; kidney-paired donation; incompatible living donor kidney transplantation; pancreas transplantation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its progression to the terminal stage still represent a significant cause of reduced quality of life and premature mortality. CKD is an invalidating disease, and the standard in medical care involves aggressive monitoring for signs of disease progression and early referral to specialists for renal replacement therapy such as dialysis and kidney transplant. The number of kidney transplants performed has increased in many countries, their outcomes have improved substantially in recent years, and tireless efforts have been made to reduce the waiting time for a kidney transplant and minimize the rate of graft loss, improving patient survival.

To increase the number of available kidneys and perform more transplantations, several strategies have been developed:

  • Living donation promotion;
  • Kidney exchange programs (KEPs);
  • Desensitization and AB0-incompatible protocols;
  • The expansion of the donor pool using extended criteria donors (ECDs) and non-beating heart donors (NHBDs).

Moreover, a deeper understanding of primary non-function (PNF) and delayed graft function (DGF) pathophysiology has been reached. This has led to improvements in the treatment of DGF, the prevention of PNF, and the development of novel tools for the more objective, specific, and accurate assessment of graft quality, such as pulsatile perfusion and graft regeneration, and has shed light on regenerative medicine, which could play a pivotal role in the near future.

Finally, to optimize the results of kidney transplantation, significant enhancements have been introduced in immunosuppression through the use of more specific immunosuppressive strategies tailored both to graft and recipient features.

This Special Issue’s aim is to explore advances in kidney transplantation, focusing on interesting perspectives for both a clinical audience and the wider scientific community.

Dr. Giuseppe Ietto
Dr. Caterina Di Bella
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • kidney transplantation
  • immunosuppression
  • graft quality
  • machine perfusion (MP)
  • living-donor kidney transplantation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 466 KiB  
Article
Quality of Life of Donors After Living Kidney Transplantation: A Cross-Sectional Study
by Chrysanthi Skalioti, Maria Smyrli, Chrysoula Beletsioti, Stathis Tsiakas, Kalliopi Vallianou, John N. Boletis and Smaragdi Marinaki
Life 2025, 15(2), 325; https://doi.org/10.3390/life15020325 - 19 Feb 2025
Viewed by 569
Abstract
Living kidney transplantation yields better outcomes for recipients than deceased donation, though it may present long-term challenges for donors. This study assessed the quality of life (QoL) of living kidney donors in Greece using the SF-36 questionnaire and examined associated sociodemographic and clinical [...] Read more.
Living kidney transplantation yields better outcomes for recipients than deceased donation, though it may present long-term challenges for donors. This study assessed the quality of life (QoL) of living kidney donors in Greece using the SF-36 questionnaire and examined associated sociodemographic and clinical factors. This cross-sectional study included 242 clinically stable kidney donors from Laiko General Hospital’s Kidney Donor Outpatient Clinic in Athens. Data on demographics, comorbidities, laboratory parameters, and QoL were collected. Spearman’s correlation coefficients were used to identify associations between QoL scores and influencing factors. The majority of donors were female (73.55%). Donors reported high QoL, with median PCS and MCS scores of 55.27 (49.08–57.73) and 54.17 (46.64–59.93), respectively. Male donors had higher PCS and MCS scores than females (p = 0.028 and p = 0.004). Laparoscopic nephrectomy was associated with better mental health and physical outcomes compared to open surgery (p < 0.001). Higher education and eGFR correlated with better PCS scores, while older age negatively affected QoL (p < 0.05). Living kidney donors reported a satisfactory level of overall QoL post-donation. Lower QoL scores were correlated with the female gender, older age, and open nephrectomy. These findings may further reinforce support for our current organ donation policy. Non-modifiable factors appear to influence donor quality of life. These findings reinforce the current organ donation policy while emphasizing the need for careful pre-transplant counseling and ongoing monitoring post-donation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Kidney Transplantation: What’s Hot and What’s New—2nd Edition)
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