Introduction
: Single institution series have suggested that donor-recipient gender matching may be an important factor influencing survival following orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database provides a unique and novel opportunity to address this issue by examining outcomes based on gender pairing for a large cohort of OHT patients.
Methods
: We retrospectively reviewed the UNOS dataset to identify 18,240 patients receiving first time OHT between the years 1998 and 2007. Stratification was by both donor and recipient gender so that 4 separate groups were created (male donor with male recipient, female donor with male recipient, male donor with female recipient, and female donor with female recipient). The primary endpoint of all cause mortality was compared between groups using a Cox proportional hazard regression model. Secondary outcomes (thirty day and one year mortality and rejection during the first year) were examined with multiple logistic regression. Post transplant survival was modeled via the Kaplan Meier method.
Results
: Of 18,240 patients, 12,951 (71%) were matched by gender to their donor (77% for male recipients, n= 10,750 and 51% for female recipients n= 2,201). A total of 4,543 patients died during the study period (25%). Donor-recipient gender matching resulted in a reduction in the risk of adjusted cumulative mortality (Hz ratio 0.86 [0.78–0.95], p= 0.003) and the greatest risk for cumulative mortality occurred when pairing a male donor with a female recipient (Hz ratio 1.2 [1.04–1.37], p= 0.01). Thirty day and one year mortality were also significantly decreased by gender pairing (OR 0.75 [0.61–0.95], p= 0.02 for 30 day mortality, and OR 0.8 [0.68–0.93], p= 0.005 for one year mortality). Gender pairing resulted in a 13% decrease in the risk of graft rejection within the first year (OR 0.87 [0.79–0.98], p= 0.02]. Kaplan Meier survival modeling revealed that the greatest cumulative survival occurred when a male recipient received an organ from a male donor (Figure)
Conclusions
: The UNOS dataset has provided a large sample examining donor recipient gender pairing in OHT. Recipients who receive organs for same sex donors have significantly improved short and long term survival.
Exploring gender and gender pairing in the knowledge elaboration processes of students using computer-supported collaborative learning
