Renal transplantation: the present and the future.

Children receiving kidney transplants in the modern era in developed countries have excellent overall results. Graft survival and patient survival in children is now virtually equal to that in adult organ recipients. Deceased donor source kidneys are no longer associated with significantly inferior outcomes. These advances are in large part due to development in more potent immunosuppressive agents and newer combinations. These advances have also come at a price in the form of increased post-transplant infections. The transplant community is now moving to minimization protocols to reduce the adverse effects of many of the medications and to reduce the incidence of infections. Newer techniques of diagnosis of acute rejection, degree of immunosuppression and DNA-based viral surveillance are changing the face of clinical practice. Newer technologies such as stem cell transplantation, tissue engineering and xenotransplantation promise even more changes in the future.