Pediatric renal transplantation: Jordan's experience.

To evaluate our experience with pediatric renal transplantation at King Hussein Medical Center, the medical records of 71 pediatric patients who underwent a renal transplantation procedure between the years 2004 and 2010 or started follow-up at our center within one week of transplantation done elsewhere were reviewed. Over the seven-year period, 71 children under the age of 14 years who received their first renal transplant were studied. About 56% (40) were males. The mean age was 9.44 ± 2.86 years. Dysplastic kidney was the most common cause of end-stage renal failure in our group, followed by glomerulonephritis. Mothers were the donors in 39.4% of the cases, followed by fathers. Twenty-three patients (32.4%) were transplanted preemptively. The overall one-year graft survival was 96%, three-year survival was 95%, and the five-year survival was 88%. Prednisone, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate mofetil formed the main-stay of immunosuppressive agents. We have developed a successful live donor program for renal transplantation in children at King Hussein Medical Center in Amman. Although our experience is still short, the graft survival is similar to that achieved in the developed world, especially with preemptive transplant.