A new study published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood highlights the key barriers to renal transplantation in children in the UK.
A cross-sectional, multicentre, observational study analysed data for 308 children aged <18 years with end-stage kidney disease identified from 12 paediatric nephrology centres in the UK.
The mean estimated delay to transplantation as a result of various barriers in children with active plans to proceed with transplantation was 13.6 months. The most common factors associated with delayed renal transplantation in children included disease factors, donor availability (living and deceased) and the size of the child. Psychosocial factors were other important barriers to transplantation.
While some barriers such as disease factors and size of the child are not likely to be modifiable through unified intervention, others such as lack of suitable donor and high sensitisation are considered modifiable barriers.
According to the authors, modifiable barriers "could potentially be ameliorated through interventions aimed at widening the donor pool, including greater use of UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme, ABO blood group and/or human leukocyte antigen incompatible transplantation."