Transplant patient monitoring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a survival analysis of kidney transplant recipients abroad

Context and objective. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) does not currently practice kidney transplantation, and patients are referred to other countries for transplantation. Furthermore, post-kidney transplant follow-up in the DRC is suboptimal and faces several challenges. The present study aimed to evaluate survival of kidney grafts and transplant recipients followed up in Kinshasa. Methods. This cohort retrospective study was conducted in three hospitals in Kinshasa/the DRC and included post-transplant patients selected between 2000 and 2020. Graft failure was defined as glomerular filtration rate ˂ 15 ml/minute/1.73 m2 or resumption of dialysis. Results. Only 50 patients were included. The mean age at transplantation was 49.8 ± 14.3 years. Most patients were male (84%) and received transplants in India (82%) from living donors (96%). One in five patients was diabetic. The six-month, one-, and five-year graft survival was 92, 83, and 63%, respectively. Conclusion. Despite several challenges, the care of patients transplanted abroad and followed up in the DRC is satisfactory. The prospects for practicing kidney transplantation locally and improving associated technical platforms must be encouraged. Received: March 17th, 2024 Accepted: January 4th, 2025 https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/aamed.v18i2.5