Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
S ince 1980, the incidence and prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have increased each year in Canada and throughout the world. From 1981 to 1999, the number of new patients with ESRD grew at a compound annual rate of 7.3% 1 and similar trends were documented worldwide. 2 By 31 Dec. 2000, 24 921 Canadians were receiving life-sustaining treatment for ESRD; dialysis was the treatment modality for 14 567 patients and the remaining 10 354 patients (41.5%) had a functioning kidney transplant. The development of ESRD is associated with a substantial reduction in health-related quality of life 4,5 and premature death. 6 Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for ESRD as it prolongs survival, 7 improves quality of life 4,5 and is less costly than dialysis. espite the benefits of kidney transplantation, not all patients with ESRD take this route and there is considerable variation in transplantation rates across Canada; for example, the renal transplantation rate (per million population) is only 27.4 in Saskatchewan compared with 51.8 in the Atlantic provinces. 3 It is not known to what extent this variation is due to differences in rates of referral and acceptance for transplantation (i.e., perceived eligibility) or to differences in availability of donors. The purpose of this consensus document was to outline which patients, in the growing Canadian ESRD population, are currently eligible for transplantation. We hope that these guidelines will lead to consistency in determining which patients are eligible and accepted for kidney transplantation.
Greg Knoll (Mon,) studied this question.