Kidney Transplant
Surgeon James Guarrera harvests the damaged kidney of patient Adam Abernathy as part of a five-way organ transplant swap in New York, August 1, 2012. Reuters/Keith Bedford

A new study by Australian and US researchers has revealed that it is possible to predict organ failure risk post kidney transplant. In what has been defined as a landmark breakthrough in medical research, the scientists identified several genes holding the key to determining the future outcome of a kidney transplant.

According to the ABC, the discovery of the genes mean people will be able to get treatment much before any irreversible damage occurs. Lead author of the study, professor Philip O’Connell, and other experts at New York's Mount Sinai Medical School and Sydney's Westmead Institute identified the 13 genes that may predict if patients are at a risk of organ damage after a kidney transplant.

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“We are hoping this will lead to increased kidney graft survival over the long term. This would mean less mortality, fewer people returning to dialysis and people having a better quality of life,” O’Connell told The Sydney Morning Herald.

The study, published in the journal The Lancet, stated that the researchers used genomic sequencing for testing 40,000 genes from biopsies of transplanted kidneys. Next, they compared gene regulation of people with regular kidney function and those showing signs of organ failure. The researchers were able to identify the 13 genes after a series of complex mathematical calculations.

O’Connell said that the test devised “can predict at three months, which is very early, after the kidney transplant that you're at risk of this.” Moreover, the diagnostic test may be tailored for patients.

At the end of 2014, more than 10,000 Australians were living with a functional kidney transplant. As of Feb. 1, nearly 1,100 people were on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.

“We are probably about five years away from using this tool in a routine clinical setting. Our next step is to undertake clinical trials to see what treatments will help,” O’Connell said.

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