Thymoglobulin in Calcineurin Inhibitor and Steroid Minimization Protocol

All patients will receive methyl prednisone intravenously pre-operatively, as per institutional practice. Thymoglobulin will be initiated prior to completion of the anastomosis, or if not possible, within 24 hours of transplantation in all patients and a total dose of 6-7.5mg/kg will be given over 3-5 doses. Steroids will be initiated post-operatively at 1mg/kg/day for 2 days, then 0.5mg/kg/day for 2 days, then 0.25mg/kg/day for 2 days and then patients will be placed on 5mg daily for the remainder of the study. All patients will receive Mycophenolic acid at a dose of 2gm/day (Cellcept) or 1440mg/day (Myfortic) post-transplantation with dose adjustment as needed. Cyclosporine micro-emulsion will be initiated when renal function is established or no later than day 10 in a dose of 3mg/kg twice daily with adjustment to achieve a C2 target of 600-800 nanograms/ml.