Transition of Care of Kidney Recipients from Transplant Centers to Referring Nephrologists: Report from the American Society of Transplantation Controversies Conference

The expanding number of surviving kidney transplant patients, driven in part by federal initiatives to increase transplant access for patients with advanced CKD, has strained the capacity of the existing transplant nephrology workforce to manage longer-term post-transplant recipients. As patients are living longer with working allografts, the need for effective long-term management has become very important. This can only be achieved by closer collaboration between transplant centers and referring nephrologists. There is, therefore, a great need for closer involvement of referring nephrologists in providing care for this medically complex patient population, necessitating ongoing bidirectional communication with transplant centers. The American Society of Transplantation Kidney Pancreas Community of Practice organized a Controversies Conference in October 2022 to identify major challenges and propose guidance for collaborative, safe and standardized care transition and longitudinal management of this population. This article summarizes the key themes, strategies, and recommendations that emerged from the conference, offering a roadmap for enhancing collaborative care models and supporting a sustainable system to manage the evolving needs of this medically complex patient population.