The Growing Problem of Chronic Renal Failure after Transplantation of a Nonrenal Organ

The clinical introduction of the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine in the early 1980s revolutionized the field of organ transplantation. The adoption of cyclosporine-based immunosuppressive regimens dramatically improved survival among patients who received nonrenal allografts. Twenty years later, cyclosporine and tacrolimus (another inhibitor of calcineurin — a key enzyme involved in T-cell activation)1 remain the cornerstone of immunosuppressive therapy for most patients who receive nonrenal transplants.Not surprisingly, given the procedures involved, transplantation of nonrenal organs can be associated with acute renal failure. During the past two decades, however, it has become apparent that chronic renal failure is also an important complication. . . .