The Predictive Value of Donor Renal Functions, Graft Weight, Recipient Body Mass Index, and Human Leucocyte Antigen Match Regarding Early Graft Functions

Background and objective Graft performance is the most important postoperative parameter for patients undergoing kidney transplantation (KTx). The renal function of the donor is reported to be correlated with graft function after KTx. The body mass index (BMI) is also one of the important parameters involved in the prediction of graft function. The aim of this retrospective study was to examine the relationship between early postoperative graft function in patients undergoing KTx and donor cystatin C and estimated glomerular filtration rate (e-GFR) levels, graft weight/recipient BMI (G/B) ratio, and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) tissue compatibility. Materials and methods A total of 215 cases (215 donors, 215 recipients) who underwent KTx at our center between January 2018 and December 2022 were included in the study. Patients' age, sex, BMI, preoperative donor serum cystatin C and e-GFR levels, HLA tissue compatibility, graft weights, and recipient creatinine levels were recorded one week postoperatively. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and histogram plots were used to analyze the conformity of the variables to the normal distribution and Spearman's correlation test was used to analyze the relationship between variables. Results A negative correlation was identified between recipient creatinine level and G/B ratio and donor e-GFR (r = −0.256 and −0.137, respectively). Donor cystatin C level showed a positive correlation with recipient creatinine level (r = 0.242). No significant correlation was noted in terms of tissue matching rates (p = 0.616). Conclusion Although these three parameters are correlated with early graft functions, the graft weight/recipient BMI ratio has the strongest correlation.