Why do kidney transplants fail so early in young people?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Why do kidney transplants fail so early in young people?
IRAS ID
318925
Contact name
Gareth McKay
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
End-stage kidney disease is increasingly common and people with this condition die decades earlier than a healthy person of similar age. Kidney transplantation is the best treatment providing improved quality of life and much longer survival.
Unfortunately, younger people appear to be at higher risk of losing their transplant; having a devastating impact on their physical and mental health. It remains unclear why kidney transplants fail so early in young people.We are increasingly aware that cells that control immunity have different subsets which can make rejection of a transplant organ more likely. There are early clinical trials investigating whether modulating these cell subsets can be used to help in the management of kidney transplant patients and prevent rejection.
This pilot study will determine if the subset population of cells known to be important in initiating and preventing rejection (T-Cells, B-Cells and Natural Killer Cells) is different in older adults vs younger adults with kidney transplants. We aim to recruit 50 patients (25 <30 years old and 25 ≥30 years old) with functioning kidney transplants to provide additional blood samples and using flow cytometry to determine if the subset expression differs between these both groups.
This study could help identify biological reasons why young people lose their kidney transplant earlier and potentially identify them as a population who may benefit from immune cell subset modulation therapy.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/EE/0264
Date of REC Opinion
13 Dec 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion