Introduction: Despite an increase in the number of cadaver donors and the number of overall organ transplantations, the dramatic increase in the waiting list makes it necessary to reconsider donor criteria.
Aim: The authors examined whether differences could exist in the function and/or morphology of transplanted kidneys originated from marginal and ideal donors one and five years after transplantation.
Method: Kidney function and histopathologic findings were analysed and compared one and 5 years after transplantation in 97 patients having marginal donor kidneys and 178 patients who received ideal donor kidneys.
Results: Serum creatinine level was significantly higher (p = 0.0001) and estimated glomerular filtration rate was significantly lower (p = 0.003) in patients having marginal donor kidneys as compared to those with ideal donor kidneys 5 years after transplantation. Morphological changes in the transplanted kidneys such as tubulitis (p = 0.014) and interstitial inflammation (p = 0.025) were significantly more frequently present in patients with marginal donor kidneys than in those with ideal donor kidneys one year after transplantation.
Conclusion: Despite an absence of differences in kidney function one year after kidney transplantation between patients having marginal and ideal donor kidneys, morphologic differences in the transplanted kidneys can be detected between the two groups of patients.
Keywords: Banff score; Banff-score; ideal donor kidney; ideális donor; kidney transplantation; marginal donor kidney; marginális donor; vesetranszplantáció.