Survival benefit of deceased donor kidney transplantation versus continued dialysis: international target trial emulation

The authors aimed to quantify the survival benefit of deceased donor kidney transplantation compared to continued dialysis, taking into account patient characteristics and donor quality. They found that standard criteria donor transplants consistently offered a survival advantage over dialysis, while the benefits of expanded criteria donor transplants diminished with increasing recipient age, particularly for those receiving donations after circulatory death. Notably, older patients showed little difference in five-year survival rates between expanded criteria donor transplants and continued dialysis, highlighting the complexities of transplant outcomes in this demographic.