Renal Transplantation in Emigrants From Africa in Spain: Similar Results but Different Infectious Profile Compared With Spanish People

The number of renal transplantation of emigrants from Africa in Europe is increasing. However, there is little information about the results. The aim of this study was to compare the results of renal transplantation among this African emigrant population compared with a matched group of Spanish patients. From 1996-2006, 27 African emigrants (from Morocco, Guinea, and Nigeria) received renal transplants in Madrid. We compared their results with a matched cohort, including 69% who received a kidney from the same donors to 49 Caucasian Spanish patients. Demographic data were similar except that retransplantation was more frequent (32% vs 0%; P = .02) among Spanish patients and hepatitis B was more frequent among the African group (22% vs 2%; P = .004). For both groups the most frequent regimen was steroids, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate mofetil. Acute rejection incidence was similar (Africans 26% vs Spanish 22%), but rejection as a cause of graft loss was numerically more frequent in Africans (4 of 6). Patient and graft survival rates were identical in both groups (96% and 80%, respectively) at a mean follow-up of 76 months in Africans versus 68 months in Spanish people. Characteristically African patients required higher dose of tacrolimus to maintain the same levels; and notably, they suffered rare opportunistic infections, such as Phonopsis longicolla and visceral Leishmania. In summary, renal transplantation in African emigrant patients in Spain showed excellent results similar to those obtained with a Spanish population. However, these patients needed higher doseses of Tacrolimus and experienced more rare opportunistic infections.