Abstract

Objective: To quantify the incremental survival benefit of the pancreas allograft in Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney (SPK) transplant recipients.

Research design and methods: Data from the national transplant database from 2000 to 2007 was analyzed. SPK recipients who had functioning allografts to one-year post-transplant (n=3,304) were compared to those who had failure of the renal (n=233) or pancreatic graft (n=112). The main outcome was 10-year projected life-years (LYs) of patient survival beyond the first transplant anniversary.

Results: Recipients with function of both organs accrued 9.4 LYs following transplantation. Projected survival in patients with kidney failure was reduced to 2.5 LYs. Pancreas failure reduced predicted survival to 8 LYs. Renal allograft failure impacts life expectancy significantly (aHR=12.13). However, pancreas allograft failure was also associated with reduced survival (aHR=2.62).

Conclusions: While the majority of the survival benefit of SPK transplant is due to the renal transplant, pancreas allograft function does contribute to patient survival.