Intercity deceased donor renal transplantation: a single-center experience from a developing country.

ABSTRACT

In a developing country such as India, deceased donor renal transplantation (DDRTx) accounts for only about 1% of all renal transplants (RTx). Our institute initiated an intercity DDRTx in the year 2006, which significantly increased the number of RTx. We retrieved 74 kidneys from 37 deceased donors from various cities of Gujarat from January 2006 to December 2009. We transplanted the allografts in 66 recipients and a retrospective analysis of the donor profile and management and recipient outcome was performed. The mean age of the donors was 43.3 ± 18.8 years. The causes of death included road traffic accident in 51.35% of the donors and cerebrovascular stroke in 48.65% of the donors; 83.78% of the donors required ionotropes for hemodynamic stability in addition to vigorous intravenous fluid replacement. The average urine output of the donors was 350 ± 150 mL. The organs were perfused and stored in HTK solution. The mean cold ischemia time (CIT) was 9.12 ± 5.25 h. The mean anastomosis time in the recipient was 30.8 ± 8.7 min. 57.6% of the recipients established urine output on the operating table and 42.4% developed delayed graft function. At the end of 1 month after transplantation, the mean serum creatinine was comparable to the Ahmadabad city DDRTx, although the CIT was significantly longer in the intercity patients. Intercity organ harvesting is a viable option to increase the donor pool. Distance may not be an impediment, and good recipient outcome is possible in spite of prolonged CIT in case of proper harvesting and preservation.