Abstract
The impact of hepatitis C virus on patient survival after kidney transplantation is controversial. Hepatitis C virus infection is an important consideration in kidney transplantation for graft recipients. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of HCV infection on patient and graft survival in a large cohort of living-donor kidney transplanted patients. We reviewed 964 patients including 50 with positive anti-HCV and 914 without serological markers of HCV who received living-donor kidney transplantation in the Department of Urology at Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital from January 1990 to December 2009. The 10-year patient survival rate was significantly higher in the anti-HCV-negative than in the anti-HCV-positive group. The 10-year graft survival rate was significantly higher in the anti-HCV-negative group than in the anti-HCV-positive group. Post-transplant glomerulopathies, chronic rejection, and post-transplant diabetes mellitus have the potential to adversely affect graft survival. The results of this study indicate that kidney transplant recipients who are positive for HCV antibodies have lower rates of graft survival and lower survival rates after transplantation than anti-HCV-negative recipients.
