ABSTRACT
It was not long ago that great concern was expressed over the relative deficiency of information regarding immunosuppressive drug therapy in children. Most clinical trials after kidney, liver, heart or bone marrow transplantation are conducted in adult populations. However, several groups have gained experience in paediatric transplantation and generated data to change the status of “the therapeutic orphan” [1]. Organ transplantation is currently considered as a reasonable and viable therapeutic option in paediatrics, with an impressive improvement in the success rates reached. According to data for 1999 from the United Network for Organ Sharing Scientific Registry, 1 year patient survival for paediatric transplantation ranges from 97 to 100%, 80 to 91% and 80 to 91% for cadaveric kidney, liver and heart transplants, respectively [2]. This achievement has been reached in spite of both the significantly smaller number of paediatric transplantations in comparison to the adult population, and the specificity of this population. In 2001, within the Eurotransplant area (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Slovenia), 207 children underwent an organ transplantation (kidney, liver, lung or heart), corresponding to about 5% of the transplantations in the adult population.
