For those suffering from end-stage renal disease, kidney transplant surgeries can be life-altering. One of the queries, however, is whether there is some kind of upper limit age-wise for the procedure.
Is there an age where one becomes too old to receive a kidney transplant? On this blog, we will look at how age impact on kidney transplant suitability, existence of eligibility fears, and elaborations of newer researches showing the different ages suitable for even wider scopes of eligibility.
What’s the age impact on kidney transplant suitability?
In order to determine eligibility for a kidney transplant, there are numerous factors to consider, age being one of them, but it is not the dominant factor. Younger patients are frequently given preference due to a longer life span, and greater likelihood of success after the surgery.
However, people over a certain age are not automatically disqualified from the procedure. The growth of surgery and medicine has allowed those in their 70s and in some situations their 80s to receive kidney transplants while having a higher success chance.
In addition to relevant age, doctors take into account a person’s physical, other possible health related issues alongside a person’s ability to survive the surgery and recover from it. For many, being of advanced age, and suffering from diabetes or hypertension would serve as a limitation. But, such comorbidities such as these are manageable and older people can easily be suited for transplantation.
Catastrophic Health Failure, Cardiac issues or vulnerability to complications can also reduce usablity regardless of age. In order to guarantee that a transplant is in the Zion health systems best interests, they compassionately evaluate the overall health and quality of life of the individual and the team together to determine whether or not to move forward.
Who cannot receive a kidney transplant?
Not every person meets the criteria for a kidney transplant as there are medical and lifestyle determinants that do not make such a procedure feasible or safe. Taking into account the criteria mentioned above, here’s an overview :-
- Serious Medical Problems
Individuals suffering from poorly controlled or serious health issues such as unmanageable heart malfunction, escalated liver dysfunction and cancer that is presently active, would not be ideal candidates for a renal transplant. Such medical conditions can undermine the success of a surgery.
- Active Infections
Active HIV/AIDS or hepatitis related infections are also in this band that should be well controlled and put away before a transplant type surgical procedure is done. Any infection that is presently active can disturb the already feeble immune systems, which will make the patient more prone to complication during or after the operation.
- Substance Abuse
People who have a history of alcoholism or drug related problems are unlikely to gain any acceptance for a transplant. Several transplant centers require people to undergo a rehabilitation program and a period of healthy sobriety that should be followed up with measures to promote a healthy lifestyle.
- Substance Abuse
Kidney transplants are majorly very complex procedures as they involve taking medication for the rest of the life due to the need of suppression of immunity.
Patients who are non-compliant or are unable to follow through with the treatments, are responsible for their own organ rejection and other complications and so, are not eligible.
- Old Age and a High Tendency to Frailty
People who are aged or become too frail and have a short life expectancy can be ruled out. In such cases, the benefits of surgery and immunosuppressive medications may not outweigh the risks with a transplant.
- Unresolved Psychological Issues
Patients suffering from abnormal states of their mind or unresolving psychological caretakers who are abusive in particular decisions can obstruct the process and thus will not be provided with a kidney transplant. People who have stable mental health cope up well with the pressures of post-operative healing.
Decisions are made after the eligibility is sought out for, by the medical teams and each factor affecting the life of the patient are evaluated to ensure if the person would benefit from the surgery. In cases where a transplant is not a feasible option, patients are provided with dialysis or policies to ensure an optimum quality of life is provided.
At what age kidney transplant is successful?
The success rate of kidney transplants is dependent on the age of the recipient and in this case the five year survival rate of the transplanted kidney is different. For patients above the age of 65 the rate shrinks to almost 81.6%. Even Though this transplant is viable, it is apparent that older patients will have to face challenges such as pre-existing conditions or overall health. Moving on, for younger patients, specifically those between the ages of 35 to 49 experience a 90% survival rate which puts things into perspective suggesting kidney transplants’ success rates seem to be really high for younger people.
Just like every other organ, age matters for people getting a kidney transplant. To put it all into perspective, elder patients do seem to encounter a number of risks when compared to younger patients, resulting in a lower survival rate, which in this case seems to not be an issue as it really is not shocking. However, every case is different, there are bound to be other factors present, for instance the health of the patient or the quality of donor kidney, therefore making long-term prognosis a difficult task.
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