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The acceptable threshold remains unknown for the percentage of macrosteatosis (MaS) and microsteatosis (MiS) to yield optimal outcomes after donation after circulatory death (DCD) liver transplantation (LT). The purpose of this analysis was to determine the impact of donor liver MaS and MiS on DCD LT outcomes. Using the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database, we analyzed pretransplant biopsy results from adult, solitary, DCD livers transplanted between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2017. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess graft and patient survival based on MaS and MiS severity. MiS was divided into the groups MiS ≤10% and10%. MaS was divided into the groups MaS ≤15% and15%. Of 7757 recovered DCD livers, 11.4% (n = 885) were biopsied and transplanted. Patients who received DCD livers with MaS15% had significantly worse patient survival (P 0.04), and those with MiS10% demonstrated inferior graft and patient survival (P 0.02). In multivariate analyses including known risk factors, both MaS15% and MiS10% were associated with increased risk of graft failure and patient mortality (P 0.03). Recipient and donor age60 years were also associated with increased risk of graft failure and patient death. This analysis demonstrates that MaS15% and MiS10% are additional risk factors for graft loss and patient mortality in DCD LT.

We perform routine preprocurement image-guided percutaneous liver biopsies on potential donation after circulatory death (DCD) liver donors. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of preprocurement liver biopsy on the use of livers from DCD donors. We retrospectively reviewed demographics, liver histology, and disposition of DCD liver donors within a single organ procurement organization (OPO) who underwent preprocurement liver biopsy from January 2000 through December 2019. A total of 212 potential donors underwent prerecovery biopsy. No donors were lost as a result of complications of biopsy. Of these, 183 (86.3%) had acceptable biopsies: 146 (79.8%) were successfully transplanted and 37 (20.2%) were deemed not suitable for transplant. In contrast, of 120 DCD livers recovered with the intent to transplant that were not biopsied prior to recovery, 59 (49.2%) were successfully transplanted, and 61 (50.8%) were deemed not suitable for transplant. A total of 14 donors were ruled out for transplant based on prerecovery histology. Successfully transplanted livers that underwent preprocurement biopsy were more likely to come from donors aged older than 50 years or with body mass index more than 30 kg/m

Background: Complement activation in kidney transplantation is implicated in the pathogenesis of delayed graft function (DGF). This study evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of high-dose recombinant human C1 esterase inhibitor (rhC1INH) to prevent DGF in a nonhuman primate model of kidney transplantation after brain death and prolonged cold ischemia. Methods: Brain death donors underwent 20 h of conventional management. Procured kidneys were stored on ice for 44-48 h, then transplanted into ABO-compatible major histocompatibility complex-mismatched recipients. Recipients were treated with vehicle (n = 5) or rhC1INH 500 U/kg plus heparin 40 U/kg (n = 8) before reperfusion, 12 h, and 24 h posttransplant. Recipients were followed up for 120 d. Results: Of vehicle-treated recipients, 80% (4 of 5) developed DGF versus 12.5% (1 of 8) rhC1INH-treated recipients (P = 0.015). rhC1INH-treated recipients had faster creatinine recovery, superior urinary output, and reduced urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2-insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 throughout the first week, indicating reduced allograft injury. Treated recipients presented lower postreperfusion plasma interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and IL-18, lower day 4 monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, and trended toward lower C5. Treated recipients exhibited less C3b/C5b-9 deposition on day 7 biopsies. rhC1INH-treated animals also trended toward prolonged mediated rejection-free survival. Conclusions: Our results recommend high-dose C1INH complement blockade in transplant recipients as an effective strategy to reduce kidney injury and inflammation, prevent DGF, delay antibody-mediated rejection development, and improve transplant outcomes.

Objectives The use of deceased after circulatory death liver allografts in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis is controversial, given the increased risk of graft complications in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. We hypothesized that transplant of deceased after circulatory death livers into recipients with primary sclerosing cholangitis when appropriately selected using the UK deceased after circulatory death scoring system is not associated with increased graft failure and mortality. Materials and methods We analyzed 99 229 transplants (between January 2001 and December 2018) from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database. Deceased after circulatory death transplants were stratified by the UK scoring system as low risk or high risk. We identified 3958 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis who received deceased after brain death transplant and 95 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis who received deceased after circulatory death transplant. Results As expected, 5-year graft survival was lower in the circulatory death recipient group (69.0% vs 78.4%; P = .02). However, 5-year graft survival was significantly lower in the high-risk versus low-risk UK scoring system group (60.0% vs 75.4%; P = .02), with rate in the low-risk group similar to the brain death recipient group (78.4% vs 75.4%; P = .52). On multivariate analysis, the high-risk group had significantly increased risk of graft loss (hazard ratio of 1.92; P = .01). However, the low-risk group had equivalent graft survival to the brain death recipient group (hazard ratio of 1.23; P = .31). Conclusions Graft failure was higher in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis who received livers from deceased after circulatory death donors; however, the risk of graft loss was abrogated using appropriately matched donor and recipient combinations.

Although guidance documents have been published regarding organ donation from individuals with a prior history of COVID‐19 infection, no data exist regarding successful recovery and transplantation from deceased donors with a history of or positive testing suggesting a prior SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Here, we report a case series of six deceased donors with a history of COVID‐19 from whom 13 organs were recovered and transplanted through several of the nation's organ procurement organizations (OPOs). In addition, at least two potential donors were authorized for donation but with no organs were successfully allocated and did not proceed to recovery. No transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 was reported from the six donors to recipients, procurement teams, or hospital personnel. Although more studies are needed, organ donation from deceased donors who have recovered from COVID‐19 should be considered.

Background/aim: the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in recipients of living-donor liver transplant (LDLT) compared to deceased-donor liver transplant (DDLT) has not been studied in the literature. We hypothesize that CKD stage progression in LDLT recipients is reduced compared to that of their DDLT counterparts. Materials and methods: a retrospective study was undertaken including 999 adult, single-organ, primary liver transplant recipients (218 LDLT and 781 DDLT) at 2 centers between January 2003 and December 2012, in which CKD progression and regression were evaluated within the first 3 years after transplantation. Results: waiting time from evaluation to transplantation was significantly lower in LDLT patients compared to recipients of DDLT. CKD stage progression from preoperative transplant evaluation to transplantation was significantly greater in DDLT. Deceased-donor liver transplant recipients continued to have higher rates of clinically significant renal disease progression (from stage I-II to stage III-V) across multiple time points over the first 3 years posttransplant. Furthermore, a greater degree of CKD regression was observed in recipients of LDLT. Conclusion: it can be concluded that LDLT provides excellent graft and patient survival, significantly reducing the overall incidence of clinically significant CKD stage progression when compared to DDLT. Moreover, there is a significantly higher incidence of CKD stage regression in LDLT compared to DDLT. These observations were maintained in both high and low model for end-stage liver disease(MELD)populations. This observation likely reflects earlier access to transplantation in LDLT as one of the contributing factors to preventing CKD progression., NA

Delayed graft function (DGF) in renal transplant is associated with reduced graft survival and increased immunogenicity. The complement-driven inflammatory response after brain death (BD) and posttransplant reperfusion injury play significant roles in the pathogenesis of DGF. In a nonhuman primate model, we tested complement-blockade in BD donors to prevent DGF and improve graft survival. BD donors were maintained for 20 hours; kidneys were procured and stored at 4 degrees C for 43-48 hours prior to implantation into ABO-compatible, nonsensitized, MHC-mismatched recipients. Animals were divided into 3 donor-treatment groups: G1 - vehicle, G2 - rhC1INH+heparin, and G3 - heparin. G2 donors showed significant reduction in classical complement pathway activation and decreased levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1. DGF was diagnosed in 4/6 (67%) G1 recipients, 3/3 (100%) G3 recipients, and 0/6 (0%) G2 recipients (P = .008). In addition, G2 recipients showed superior renal function, reduced sC5b-9, and reduced urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin in the first week posttransplant. We observed no differences in incidence or severity of graft rejection between groups. Collectively, the data indicate that donor-management targeting complement activation prevents the development of DGF. Our results suggest a pivotal role for complement activation in BD-induced renal injury and postulate complement blockade as a promising strategy for the prevention of DGF after transplantation.

Purpose Social causes increasingly rely on omni-channel touchpoints involving personal discussions and grassroots digital marketing efforts to engage individuals via social referrals. This paper aims to examine digital natives’ perceived effectiveness of omni-channel touchpoints for increasing social cause engagement including social media, digital media, traditional and interpersonal communications, along with an individual’s social/digital media behaviors. Design/methodology/approach The paper reports empirical results from an online survey of 924 digital natives. The paper uses multivariate and multiple regression analyses to examine the differential effects of a diverse range of media influencing the perceived effectiveness of social cause referrals from a family member versus a close friend. Findings The results identify the combination of omni-channel touchpoints most likely to be effective for enhancing organ donation support and registration efforts as part of social referral campaigns. The findings suggest differences exist based on whether the campaign targets family members or friends. Research limitations/implications The research focuses on digital natives and does not address differences that may vary by specific messages shared across generational groups or ethnicities. More research is also necessary, which examines the effects of digital consumption versus content creation behaviors. Practical implications The paper includes implications for social marketers looking at increasing viral reach and engagement via social referral campaigns. Marketers should integrate the omni-channel touchpoints deemed to be most effective for each target based on specific campaign goals. Originality/value This paper addresses a gap in marketers’ understanding of how digital natives perceive social referral campaigns targeting their social circle via various omni-channel touchpoints.

BACKGROUND: Brain-death associated inflammation has been implicated in decreased kidney allograft function and survival, but the underlying mechanisms have not been well distinguished from the conditions of critical care itself. We have developed a clinically translatable model to separate and investigate strategies to improve donor management and critical care. METHODS: Brain-dead (n=12) and sham (n=5) rhesus macaques were maintained for 20 hours under ICU-level conditions. Samples were collected for immunophenotyping, analysis of plasma proteins, coagulation studies, and gene analysis for changes in immune and metabolic profile with comparison to naive samples (n=10). RESULTS: We observed an increase in circulating leukocytes and cytokines, activation of complement and coagulation pathways, and upregulation of genes associated with inflammation in both brain-dead and sham subjects relative to naïve controls. Sham demonstrated an intermediate phenotype of inflammation compared to brain-death. Analysis of gene expression in kidneys from brain-death kidneys revealed a similar upregulation of inflammatory profile in both BD and sham subjects, but BD presented a distinct reduction in metabolic and respiratory processes compared to sham and naïve kidneys. CONCLUSION: Brain death is associated with activation of specific pathways of the innate immune system and changes to metabolic gene expression in renal tissue itself, however sham donors presented an intermediate inflammatory response attributable to the critical care environment. The early onset and penetrating impact of this inflammatory response underscores the need for early intervention to prevent peri operative tissue injury to transplantable organs.

Ethylmalonic encephalopathy (EE) is a rapidly progressive autosomal recessive mitochondrial disease caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in the ETHE1 gene that encodes the mitochondrial sulfur dioxygenase. It is characterized by neurodevelopmental delay and regression, pyramidal and extrapyramidal signs, recurrent petechiae, chronic diarrhea, and orthostatic acrocyanosis. Laboratory findings include elevated serum levels of lactate and C4-C5 acylcarnitines, and elevated urinary excretion of ethylmalonic acid and C4-C6 acylglycines, notably isobutyrylglycine and 2-methylbutyrylglycine. These findings are attributed to deficiency of the mitochondrial sulfur dioxygenase resulting in toxic accumulation of hydrogen sulfide metabolites in vascular endothelium and mucosal cells of the large intestine. Medical management has thus far been directed toward decreasing the accumulation of hydrogen sulfide metabolites using a combination of metronidazole and N-acetylcysteine. More recently, orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) has been reported as a new therapeutic option for EE. Here, we report two additional cases of EE who achieved psychomotor developmental improvement after 7- and 22-months following OLT. The second case serves as the longest developmental outcome follow-up reported, thus far, following OLT for EE. This report provides additional evidence to validate OLT as a promising therapeutic approach for what was considered to be a fatal disease.

For donation after circulatory death (DCD), many centers allow 1 h after treatment withdrawal to donor death for kidneys. Our center has consistently allowed 2 h. We hypothesized that waiting longer would be associated with worse outcome. A single-center, retrospective analysis of DCD kidneys transplanted between 2008 and 2013 as well as a nationwide survey of organ procurement organization DCD practices were conducted. We identified 296 DCD kidneys, of which 247 (83.4%) were transplanted and 49 (16.6%) were discarded. Of the 247 recipients, 225 (group 1; 91.1%) received kidneys with a time to death (TTD) of 0-1 h; 22 (group 2; 8.9%) received grafts with a TTD of 1-2 h. Five-year patient survival was 88.8% for group 1, and 83.9% for group 2 (p = 0.667); Graft survival was also similar, with 5-year survival of 74.1% for group 1, and 83.9% for group 2 (p = 0.507). The delayed graft function rate was the same in both groups (50.2% vs. 50.0%, p = 0.984). TTD was not predictive of graft failure. Nationally, the average maximum wait-time for DCD kidneys was 77.2 min. By waiting 2 h for DCD kidneys, we performed 9.8% more transplants without worse outcomes. Nationally, this practice would allow for hundreds of additional kidney transplants, annually.

Background Many strategies regarding timing of native nephrectomies exist for patients with symptomatic polycystic kidney disease (PCKD). Methods This is a single-center, retrospective study of 594 adults with PCKD who had renal transplants from 1994 to 2014. Three groups were analyzed: renal transplant-only recipients (tx alone), recipients of simultaneous bilateral nephrectomies and transplant (simultaneous), and recipients with pretransplant bilateral nephrectomies (pre). The primary outcome was graft survival. Secondary outcomes included postoperative complications. Results Five hundred sixty-five adults with PCKD received kidney transplants (303 tx alone, 161 simultaneous, 27 pre). Ten-year posttransplant graft survival was 68.5%, 63.6%, and 65.7% for tx alone, simultaneous, and precohorts (P = 0.86). No statistically significant differences were observed in rates of postoperative ileus, deep vein thrombosis, small bowel obstruction, urinary stricture, urine leak, hernia formation, and delayed graft function. More wound complications were seen in prepatients (25.9% vs 11.1% tx alone, 5.1% simultaneous; P = 0.03), whereas simultaneous patients had a lower incidence of lymphocele (1.3% vs 11.1% pre, 10.2% tx-alone; P = 0.002). Importantly, simultaneous patients had more renal vascular thromboses (4.4% vs 1.3% tx alone, 0% pre; P = 0.04). 16.3% of renal transplant alone patients required nephrectomy at 10 years follow-up. Twenty-nine patients were referred for transplant having had nephrectomies and were ultimately not transplanted. In 4 of these patients who had data available for analysis, the mean panel-reactive antibody significantly increased after nephrectomy was performed. Conclusions Simultaneous bilateral nephrectomy can be safely performed at the time of renal transplantation, however, carries a significantly increased risk of renal vascular thrombosis.

The significance of preexisting donor-specific HLA antibodies (HLA-DSAs) for liver allograft function is unclear. Our previous studies have shown that humoral alloreactivity frequently accompanies acute cellular rejection (ACR). In the present study, we set out to determine whether pretransplant HLA-DSAs correlate with clinically significant ACR in the first 90 days after transplantation and, if so, to determine their predictive values. Class I HLA-DSAs and class II HLA-DSAs were determined by single-antigen bead flow cytometry for 113 consecutive adult transplants. A statistical analysis was performed for data from 109 consecutive patients with graft survival greater than or equal to 90 days. All patients who developed biochemical graft dysfunction underwent liver biopsy for hematoxylin-eosin and complement component 4d staining. Cox proportional hazards models and associated hazard ratios revealed a significant association of pretransplant HLA-DSAs with clinically significant ACR: this association started with a mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) as low as 300 for both class I (hazard ratio = 2.7, P

Introduction The incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in liver transplant recipients has been estimated to be from 18% to 28% at 10 yr after transplantation. As outcomes from liver transplantation continue to improve, long-term native kidney function in these recipients becomes more critical to patient survival. Methods We analyzed 1151 adult, deceased-donor, single-organ primary liver transplantations performed at our center between 7/17/84 and 12/31/07. Analysis of renal function was performed on 972 patients with liver allograft survival >1 yr. Results Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that 3%, 7%, and 18% of liver transplant recipients with allograft survival >1 yr developed end-stage renal disease (ESRD) at five, 10, and 20 yr, respectively. Significant independent risk factors for ESRD included dialysis during the transplant hospitalization, the stage of CKD at one yr, hypercholesterolemia, non-Caucasian race, and hepatitis C as the primary indication for liver transplantation. The initial immunosuppression of essentially all recipients was a calcineurin inhibitor-based regimen. Conclusion Close, long-term follow-up of liver transplant recipients permits optimal management of liver allograft and native renal function and can lead to excellent long-term outcomes despite a calcineurin inhibitor-based immunosuppressive regimen.

The gap between the number of patients on the waiting list and the number of organs available for transplant is continuing to widen. Along with exploring living donation, donation after cardiac death (DCD) presents an excellent source of organs and adds to the supply of organs available for transplant. Results have shown that kidneys and pancreata from DCD donors do equally well in the long term. The results for livers from DCD donors have a higher rate of complications, but nonetheless, have acceptable results in terms of patient and graft survival.

This report focuses on the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics organ procurement organization's efforts to increase deceased organ and tissue donation by using social media and personalized messages targeting members of university student organizations, their families, and their friends. A grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services funded a 2-year study to (1) identify barriers/opportunities for increasing awareness, attitudes, and behaviors related to organ and tissue donation; (2) implement an intervention using social media and personalized message to increase knowledge, support, and donor registrations; (3) measure impact on awareness and attitudinal and behavioral changes within the organization; and (4) assess behavioral measures across a host of social media analytics and organ donor registrations. The results show increases in knowledge about and support for organ donation, including a 20% increase in donor registration. As a result, funding was secured to continue the project for an additional 2 years.

The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome with attendant morbid obesity continues to increase nationwide. A concomitant increase in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and associated end-stage liver disease requiring transplantation is expected to parallel this trend. Between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2008, our center performed 813 solitary adult deceased-donor liver transplants. Patients were divided into groups based on the World Health Organization International Classification of obesity. Patients within each obesity class were compared to normal weight recipients. Pre-operative demographics among all groups were similar. NASH was more common in higher BMI groups. Operative time, blood product usage, ICU length of stay, infectious complications, and biliary complications requiring intervention were all higher in obese recipients. Deep venous thrombosis occurred more commonly in patients with Class III obesity. Patients with Class II obesity had lower patient (HR 1.82, CI 1.09–3.01, p=0.02) and allograft survival (HR 1.62, CI 1.02–2.65, p=0.04). Obesity class did not reach statistical significance on multivariate analysis. Despite increased technical operative challenges and medical complexities associated with increasing recipient BMI, morbid obesity in and of itself should not be an absolute contraindication to liver transplantation as these patients have reasonable long-term outcomes.

Portopulmonary hypertension (PoPH) refers to pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with portal hypertension with or without evidence of an underlying liver disease. Despite the potential for curing PoPH with liver transplantation, the presence of moderate or severe PoPH is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and is, therefore, a contraindication to transplantation. Previous studies have predominantly used intravenous epoprostenol for treatment in order to qualify patients for liver transplantation. In this retrospective case series, we describe the clinical course of 11 patients whom we successfully treated (predominantly with oral sildenafil and subcutaneous treprostinil) in order to qualify them for liver transplantation. The mean pulmonary artery pressure significantly improved from 44 to 32.9 mm Hg, and the pulmonary vascular resistance decreased from 431 to 173 dyn second cm(-5) . There were significant improvements in the cardiac output and the transpulmonary gradient with these therapies as well. All 11 patients subsequently received liver transplants with a 0% mortality rate to date; the duration of follow-up ranged from 7 to 60 months. After transplantation, 7 of the 11 patients (64%) were off all pulmonary vasodilators, and only 2 patients required transiently increased doses of prostacyclins. In conclusion, an aggressive approach to the treatment of PoPH with sildenafil and/or treprostinil and subsequent liver transplantation may be curative for PoPH in some patients.

Between 1/1/02 and 12/31/07, our center performed 1687 adult renal transplants. A retrospective analysis was performed to compare outcomes between patients receiving alemtuzumab (n=632) and those receiving either basiliximab (n=690) or thymoglobulin (n=125). Patients receiving alemtuzumab were younger (49 vs. 51 years, p=0.02), had fewer HLA matches (1.7 vs. 2.0, p

2011 AASLD.Received February 16, 2011; accepted April 27, 2011.By asking whether we should perform deceased donorliver transplantation (DDLT) after living donor livertransplantation (LDLT) has failed, we appear to bequestioning the generally accepted current practice ofretransplantation for transplant failure. However, wewill also consider in this analysis that LDLT may havebeen performed for patients whose tumors werebeyond the local criteria for listing or increased prior-ity on the deceased donor (DD) wait list (ie, thepatients were not eligible for DDLT originally). Toarrive at a recommendation, we will analyze the out-comes and ethical implications of retransplantationby considering the following 4 questions:1. Should we perform DDLT after the failure ofDDLT?2. Should we perform DDLT after the failure ofLDLT in a patient without hepatocellular carci-noma (HCC)?3. Should we perform DDLT after the failure ofLDLT in a patient with HCC who fulfills the localcriteria for listing and increased priority on thewait list?4. Should we perform DDLT after the failure ofLDLT in a patient with HCC who does not fulfillthe local criteria for listing or increased priorityon the wait list (ie, the patient failed to meet thecriteria for DDLT originally)?With questions 1 to 3, we will consider the ethicalfoundation for the current practice of retransplanta-tion for graft failure, and this discussion will serve asthe basis for question 4, which is more controversial.

Objective We sought to examine long-term outcomes at the University of Wisconsin for all lung transplant recipients who received lungs from donation after cardiac death donors since the initiation of this program in 1993. Methods Eighteen (4.2%) of the 424 lung transplantations performed in 406 patients between January 1993 and April 2009 used lungs from donation after cardiac death donors. Outcomes for this recipient cohort were compared with those for recipients who received organs from brain-dead donors. Results Warm ischemic time (from withdrawal of support to reperfusion of organs) was 30 ± 17 minutes (11–93 minutes). The patient survival rates in the donation after cardiac death group (DCD group) at 1, 3, and 5 years were 88.1% ± 7.9%, 81.9% ± 9.5%, and 81.9% ± 9.5%, respectively. These survival rates were not different from those of the brain-dead donor group (BDD group, P = .66). The incidence of primary graft dysfunction in the DCD group was similar to that of the BDD group (P = .59). However, the incidence of airway complications was somewhat higher in the DCD group. Freedom from bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome at 1, 3, and 5 years in the DCD group was 80.4% ± 10.2%, 80.4% ± 10.2%, and 72.3% ± 11.9%, respectively, and did not differ from the incidence of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome in the BDD group (P = .59). Conclusions Our data show that the long-term patient and graft survival rates after donation after cardiac death lung transplantation were equivalent to those after brain-dead donor lung transplantation. Our findings suggest that the use of donation after cardiac death donors can safely and substantially expand the donor pool for lung transplantation.

Objective Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation (SPK) is a procedure which frees the diabetic patient with end-stage nephropathy from dialysis and daily insulin injections. The purpose of this study is to report long-term outcomes of this procedure, and describe surgical and medical complications. Methods The analysis includes 1000 consecutive SPKs performed between 1985 and 2007. Bladder drainage was used in 390 patients and enteric drainage in 610 patients. In 362 patients, SPK transplantation was performed before initiation of dialysis. Results Patient survival at 1, 10, and 20 years is 97%, 80%, and 58%; kidney survival is 91%, 63%, and 38%; and pancreas survival is 88%, 63%, and 36%, respectively. There was no difference (P > 0.19) for patient, kidney, and pancreas survival between bladder and enteric drainage. Major surgical complications for bladder-drained patients were anastomotic leaks, urological complications, and infections. For enteric-drained patients, major surgical complications were infection, bleeding, and enzyme leak. Principal causes of death were myocardial infarction (n = 23), cerebrovascular accident (n = 18), and renal failure (n = 15). Graft failure for the kidney was due to acute rejection (n = 48), chronic rejection (n = 146), and death with a functioning graft (n = 99). Graft failure for the pancreas was caused by chronic graft loss (n = 44), thrombosis (n = 31), rejection (n = 80), and death with a functioning graft (n = 125). A total of 113 patients were retransplanted with either living related or unrelated donor kidneys (n = 64) or deceased donor kidneys (n = 42). Survival for retransplanted kidneys is 84% at 1 year and 68% at 5 years. Surviving bladder-drained patients underwent enteric conversion (>50%) for severe recalcitrant metabolic or urologic complications, most commonly enzyme leaks, hematuria, and recurrent urinary tract infection. Conclusions Diabetic patients with end-stage renal failure have a poor prognosis without transplantation. Transplantation with SPK provides a marked extension of the patient's life and freedom from insulin injections. Enteric drainage is currently the surgical technique of choice. SPK transplantation should be considered the treatment of choice in this patient population.

We have used alemtuzumab in combination with triple maintenance immunosuppression in renal transplantation from donors after cardiac death between 2002 and 2006. We compared outcomes of induction therapy with alemtuzumab with interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor antagonists (RA) and anti-lymphocyte antibodies. We used a retrospective sequential study design to examine 170 recipients of kidneys from donor after cardiac death (DCD) for survival, graft survival, time to first rejection, glomerular filtration and complications. Patients were stratified into high-risk and low-risk groups based on the following criteria: panel of reactive antibodies >20%, retransplants, Afro-American race. Induction with alemtuzumab was compared with anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) in the high-risk and with IL-2RA in the low-risk group. Patients received triple immunosuppression with steroids, mycophenolate mofetil and calcineurin inhibitors. Patient survival, graft survival, rejection rate and glomerular filtration rate did not significantly differ between patients treated with alemtuzumab versus IL-2RAs or ATG. There was a trend towards reduced graft- and patient survival in the alemtuzumab group. There was an increased incidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections in the alemtuzumab-induced group and a trend towards increased BK virus and bacterial infections. Induction of DCD kidney transplants with alemtuzumab compared to IL-2RA and ATG has no significant impact on acute rejection. It appears however that CMV infections are increased in patients induced with alemtuzumab. We therefore conclude that induction with alemtuzumab does not confer any advantage over traditional induction agents.

Background We have previously shown that approximately 27% of patients do not progress to death in time to donate organs after attempted donation after circulatory death (DCD). As such, nearly 1000 transplants per year are not possible. One way to convert unsuccessful donations to successful donations is to increase procurement team “stand-down” times; however, increased stand-down times may predispose transplantable organs to increased ischemic damage. Methods Hemodynamics for successful and unsuccessful donations, occurring between 2011 and 2014, were characterized to determine if some unsuccessful DCDs could have donated successfully, had procurement teams waited longer. Results Analysis of 169 DCDs demonstrated statistically significant differences in hemodynamic profiles after withdrawal of support (WOS) between successful and unsuccessful donations. Early decreases in oxygen saturation were predictive of successful organ donation. We observed that for unsuccessful DCDs, patients who died in more than 2 hours but less than 12 hours were agonal within 10 minutes of WOS, suggesting that increasing stand-down times would result in prohibitive warm ischemia time. Conclusions Early changes in oxygen saturation after withdrawal of support predict donor death. Alternative approaches that convert unsuccessful DCDs to successful DCDs but that do not result in low-quality organs should be explored.

Donation after cardiac death (DCD) has the potential to significantly increase the number of organ donors nationwide by at least 10%, which is the current goal of the National Organ Donation and Transplantation Collaboratives. Several organ procurement organizations in the United States currently exceed this goal with nearly 20% of their organ donors being DCD donors. With the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations asking all hospitals in the United States to have a policy on DCD donation, the number of DCD donors nationwide is expected to increase. Likewise, the numbers of organs transplanted from DCD donors is expected to increase since transplantation results with kidneys, pancreata, livers, lungs, and, in two cases, heart transplantation, have been similar to results from brain-dead donors. Equally, if not more important, is the ability to offer the opportunity of organ donation as part of the continuum of care at the end of life for patients and families. The comfort and healing nature of being able to leave a legacy of life through organ donation is well known and should never be underestimated whether donation occurs in the DCD or brain-death setting.

Late graft loss (LGL) and late mortality (LM) following liver transplantation (LT) in children were analyzed from the studies of pediatric liver transplantation (SPLIT) database. Univariate and multivariate associations between pre- and postoperative factors and LGL and LM in 872 patients alive with their primary allografts 1 year after LT were reviewed. Thirty-four patients subsequently died (LM) and 35 patients underwent re-LT (LGL). Patients who survive the first posttransplant year had 5-year patient and graft survival rates of 94.2% and 89.2%, respectively. Graft loss after the first year was caused by rejection in 49% of the cases with sequelae of technical complications accounting for an additional 20% of LGL. LT for tumor, steroid resistant rejection, reoperation in the first 30 days and >5 admissions during the first posttransplant year were independently associated with LGL in multivariate analysis. Malignancy, infection, multiple system organ failure and posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease accounted for 61.8% of all late deaths after LT. LT performed for FHF and tumor were associated with LM. Patients who are at or below the mean for weight at the time of transplant were also at an increased risk of dying. Frequent readmission was also found to be associated with LM.

The LDLT option in the pediatric population allows recipients to be transplanted early. A total of 202 consecutive pediatric liver transplants from two different institutions--108 (LDLT) and 94 (DDLT)--were retrospectively compared. Overall, one- and three-yr patient and graft survival were similar between DDLT and LDLT. ACR was greater in recipients of DDLT at one and three yr (50.8% and 61.0%) compared to LDLT (30.8% and 32.2%) (p = 0.002). When the data were stratified according to PELD/MELD score, LDLT with a low score had better one- and three-yr graft survival (96.2% and 96.2%) compared to DDLT (88.2% and 85.2%) (p = 0.02), with comparable patient survival (p = 0.75). Patient and graft survival were similar between DDLT and LDLT in the high PELD/MELD group. Lower incidence of ACR in both low and high PELD/MELD groups was (29.6% and 34.3%) for LDLT compared to DDLT (50.3% and 53.3%, p = 0.002 and p = 0.028, respectively). Regardless of PELD/MELD score, status, age group, and recipient weight, LDLT provides excellent patient and graft survival with a lower incidence of rejection compared to DDLT.

The objective of this study was to determine the fate of patients who attempted to donate organs after circulatory death (DCD) using a standardized DCD protocol.Successful donation is not always possible after attempted DCD.Data were collected for all DCD donors between 1/2011 and 9/2014. DCDs were carried out using a uniform protocol at a single-center organ procurement organization.During the timeframe considered, DCD donation was attempted in 169 patients. In 46 patients (27.2%), no organs were recovered because the patients did not die within 2 hours. Successful donation was more likely if withdrawal of support occurred in the operating room versus the intensive care unit (P = 0.006). Time from extubation to death was available for 161/169 donors (95.3%). Of 161 donors, 111 (66.9%) died in under 1 hour. The mean time from withdrawal of support to patient death for unsuccessful donations was 33 hours, 37 minutes (range, 24 minutes-242 hours) versus 29 minutes (range, 5 minutes-2 hours, 4 minutes) for successful donations. Twenty-seven patients who unsuccessfully donated (67.5%) died within 24 hours. Were unsuccessful donations converted to successful donations, as many as 837 abdominal transplants could have been carried out in the United States, during the study period.DCD is an important form of organ donation. A large number of abdominal transplants are not possible due to unsuccessful DCD organ donation. It may be useful to explore DCD donor family satisfaction to identify other options for improving DCD donation.

Objectives. Intraoperative oliguria and its impact on early postoperative allograft function have been expressed as potential concerns of laparoscopic kidney donation. We evaluated our ability to maintain adequate diuresis during laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and its potential impact on early graft function compared with open donation. Methods. We performed a retrospective review of 98 laparoscopic and 80 open donor nephrectomies from 1999 to 2002. All laparoscopic donors received infusions of mannitol (grams of mannitol equaled patient weight in kilograms) and dopamine (2 to 3.0 g/kg/min) throughout the pneumoperitoneum. All open donors received a single dose of mannitol (12.5 g). Multiple donor variables were compared, including operative time, estimated blood loss, intraoperative fluid administration (in milliliters per kilogram per hour), intraoperative urine production (milliliters per kilogram per hour), and change in creatinine at discharge. The postoperative recipient data were compared, including initial 24-hour urine output, 1-week creatinine level, 1-month creatinine level, and need for postoperative hemodialysis. Results. No significant differences were noted in the donor groups with respect to age, weight, intraoperative fluid administration, or change in creatinine at discharge. The mean operative urine production was greater in the laparoscopic group at 5.22 mL/kg/hr than in the open group at 2.43 mL/kg/hr (P 0.0001). The mean estimated blood loss was significantly lower (P 0.0001) for the laparoscopic donors (106.7 mL) than for the open donors (184.7 mL). No significant differences were seen among the recipient groups. Conclusions. The use of mannitol and dopamine infusions during laparoscopic donor nephrectomy provided superior intraoperative urine production in the donor and equivalent early graft function in the recipient compared with the open approach. UROLOGY 68: 747‐750, 2006. © 2006 Elsevier Inc.

Campath-1H (alemtuzumab) induction was used for renal transplantation in combination with sirolimus as immunosuppression. We previously reported a high (28%) rate of early rejection with this regimen, and now report 3-year outcomes. Twenty-nine patients were recipients of either deceased donor or non-HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) identical living donor primary renal allografts. Clinical parameters including infection, malignancy, kidney function, and kidney histology were followed prospectively for 3 years. Three-year cumulative graft and patient survival were 96% and 100%, respectively. Twenty patients were maintained on steroid-free immunosuppressive regimens, and 15 patients were maintained on monotherapy for immunosuppression (12 on sirolimus). No serious infectious complications were observed and two patients developed basal cell skin cancer. The 3-year results of our initial pilot study demonstrate good graft (96%) and patient (100%) outcomes. Campath-1H induction has yielded a high proportion of patients maintained on immunosuppressive monotherapy (57%) without serious infectious- and no malignancy-related complications. The reported regimen yielded novel insights into both Campath-1H and sirolimus therapy in renal transplantation. Because of the higher incidence of early rejection, we recommend a modified strategy of immunosuppression including a brief course of a calcineurin inhibitor.

John Edwards is the clinical administrator for Gift of Life Donor Program in Philadelphia, Pa, overseeing all clinical aspects of organ and tissue recovery, and a faculty member for the Gift of Life Institute, Philadelphia, providing training and mentoring for healthcare organizations nationally. Patti Mulvania oversees the clinical education program for the Gift of Life Donor Program in Philadelphia and is a faculty member of the Gift of Life Institute, specializing in consent and clinical communication. Virginia Robertson is the associate director of the Gift of Life Institute in Philadelphia. Formerly, she was the director of hospital services for the Gift of Life Donor Program. Gweneth George is the director of hospital services for the Gift of Life Donor Program in Philadelphia. She directs a team of nearly 20 hospital development staff accountable for donation performance in 150 acute care hospitals. Richard Hasz is vice president of clinical services for the Gift of Life Donor Program in Philadelphia. He oversees the day-to-day clinical operations, including transplant coordination, hospital development, organ preservation, and tissue recovery. Howard Nathan is president and chief executive officer of the Gift of Life Donor Program in Philadelphia. The program has been involved in coordinating more than 22 000 organ transplantations and tens of thousands of tissue transplantations since 1974.

BACKGROUND In the rodent, ischemic preconditioning (IPC) has been shown to improve the tolerance of the liver to ischemia-reperfusion under normothermic or hypothermic conditions. The aim of the present study was to test this hypothesis in a dog model, which may be more relevant to the human. METHODS Beagle dogs were used in two distinct animal models of hepatic warm ischemia and orthotopic liver transplantation (hypothermic ischemia). IPC consisted of 10 minutes of ischemia followed by 10 minutes of reperfusion. In the first model, livers were exposed to 55 minutes prolonged warm ischemia and reperfused for 3 days (n = 6). In the second model, livers were retrieved and preserved for 48 hours at 4 degrees C in University of Wisconsin solution, transplanted, and reperfused without immunosuppression for 7 days (n = 5). In each model, nonpreconditioned animals served as controls (n = 5 in each group). Also, isolated dog hepatocytes were subjected to warm and cold storage ischemia-reperfusion to model the animal transplant studies using IPC. RESULTS In the first model (warm ischemia), IPC significantly decreased serum aminotransferase activity at 6 and 24 hours post-reperfusion. After 1 hour of reperfusion, preconditioned livers contained more adenosine triphosphate and produced more bile and less myeloperoxidase activity (neutrophils) relative to controls. In the second model (hypothermic preservation), IPC was not protective. Finally, IPC significantly attenuated hepatocyte cell death after cold storage and warm reperfusion in vitro. CONCLUSIONS IPC is effective in large animals for protecting the liver against warm ischemia-reperfusion injury but not injury associated with cold ischemia and reperfusion (preservation injury). However, the IPC effect observed in isolated hepatocytes suggests that preconditioning for preservation is theoretically possible.

Organ transplantation often depends on obtaining functioning organs from a donor who has recently died. This review presents a structured approach to management of the care of the brain-dead donor so as to achieve the greatest chance of a successful outcome in the recipient of the organs. Hypotension, hypothermia, diabetes insipidus, and cardiac dysfunction are common challenges to management. Brain death affects both hormone production and physiological responses in the donor.

The shortage of cadaveric donors for simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation has prompted the use of cadaveric organs from pediatric donors. The long-term outcome and its impact on overall long-term survival are unknown. A total of 680 recipients receiving cadaver Simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplantation from pediatric and adult donors between July 1986 and September 2001 were analyzed and compared. Ten-year kidney and pancreas graft survival for SPK transplantation from donors aged18 years (n = 142) were 80% and 72%, respectively, compared to 61% pancreas and kidney graft survival from donorsor =18 years of age (n = 538; p = 0.03 and 0.05, respectively). Five years post-transplant, blood glucose, HbA1c and creatinine clearance were significantly better in recipients from pediatric donors (85.3 +/- 13 mg/dL, 5.5 +/- 3.5% and 65.6 +/- 16 mL/min, respectively), compared to recipients from adult donors (95.1 +/- 29 mg/dL, 5.9 +/- 3.5% and 58.3 +/- 17 mL/min; p = 0.001, 0.01 and 0.002, respectively). Causes of graft failure for kidney and pancreas transplants were similar between the two groups. No statistically significant difference was observed in patient survival between recipients from pediatric donors compared to adult donors (85% vs. 76%, p = 0.29). When recipients of SPK from pediatric donors were stratified according to age (3-11 years and 12-17 years) and compared, no difference in kidney or pancreas graft survival was observed (kidney 76.4% vs. 81.3%, p = 0.15; pancreas 75% vs. 76%, p = 0.10, respectively). Pediatric donors represent a valuable source of organs, providing excellent short- and long-term outcomes. Wide utilization of pediatric organs will substantially increase the donor pool.

Background. Infected hepatic fluid collections (bilomas) are a major infectious complication of liver transplantation. Limited data exist on management and outcome of biloma.Methods. We report a cohort study of 57 liver transplant recipients with posttransplantation bilomas undertaken to identify the clinical features of biloma, management strategies, and outcome.Results. Fever (44%) and abdominal pain (40%) were the most common presenting symptoms, but one-third of patients were asymptomatic; 79% had elevated hepatic enzyme levels. Patients without hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) had the highest rates of resolution with percutaneous drainage and anti-infective therapy (64%). Retransplantation was necessary in 64% of patients with HAT and biloma. Independent predictors of resolution with nonsurgical therapy were absence of HAT (odds ratio [OR] 7.69; P = .01) and absence of Candida (OR, 9.09; P = .02) or enterococcal infection (OR, 7.69; P = .03). Patients with bilomas had significantly greater mortality (Cox proportional hazard ratio [HR], 2.38; P = .008, by log rank test) and graft loss (HR, 4.31; P < .0001). Predictors of mortality by multivariable analysis included renal insufficiency (OR, 12.51; P = .02) or infection with Candida species (OR, 4.93; P = .03) or gram-negative bacilli (OR, 9.12; P = .01).Conclusion. Posttransplantation biloma should be suspected in patients with fever or abdominal pain or abnormalities of hepatic enzymes, and it can be confirmed by computerized tomography and radiographically guided aspiration. Bilomas are most likely to be successfully treated nonsurgically in patients without HAT and without Candida or enterococcus infection.

Background Donation after cardiac death is a method by which severely neurologically injured patients not fulfilling brain-death criteria can donate organs. Objective To develop an evaluation tool that can be used to predict if a patient is a suitable candidate for donation after cardiac death. Methods The University of Wisconsin Donation After Cardiac Death Evaluation Tool assigns numeric values to observable clinical parameters to yield an overall predictive score of suitability for donation after cardiac death. This evaluation tool is typically utilized in a critical care unit to evaluate patients with a severe neurological injury, who do not meet brain-death criteria, and for whom the physician and family have chosen to terminally withdraw life support. Each patient is disconnected from a ventilator and observed for up to 10 minutes. Observations are then scored to yield a prediction of suitability for donation after cardiac death. Results Using the University of Wisconsin Donation After Cardiac Death Evaluation Tool, we were able to predict suitability for donation after cardiac death 83.7% of the time, within a 60-minute period and 74.4% of the time within a 120-minute period. The actual results using the tool were higher when clinical observations were included in the donation after cardiac death evaluation—an overall accuracy of 88.4%.

The number of organs recovered from asystolic donors is less than anticipated and is explained partially by negative attitudes held by health care providers. To understand the reasons for these beliefs and find solutions, the United Network for Organ Sharing under contract with the Department of Health and Human Services convened the Intraoperative Advisory Council on Donation After Cardiac Death in September, 2001. The Council found that, unlike other medical specialties, operating room health care providers were uncertain of their roles and duties in the care of donors declared dead with cardiopulmonary criteria, known as donation after cardiac death. They were reluctant to care for terminally ill patients in whom death was an expected outcome. Council members deliberated these issues, seeking solutions to repatriate operating room health care providers with the national effort to provide reliable and compassionate care to organ donors and their families. The Council requested the construction of practice guidelines, believing that the structure provided by guidelines will improve health provider confidence in donation after cardiac death and thus improve the quality of care. Physician and nonphysician health care providers from the operating room met to create the Guidelines for the United Network for Organ Sharing, which they believe will improve the quality of care of asystolic organ donors.

Campath-1H, an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody, was used as induction therapy (40 mg i.v. total dose) in 29 primary human renal transplants, and the patients were maintained on rapamycin monotherapy (levels 8-15 ng/mL) post-transplant. Campath-1H profoundly depletes lymphocytes long-term and more transiently depletes B cells and monocytes. All patients are alive and well at 3-29 months of follow up. One graft was lost because of rejection. There have been no systemic infections and no malignancies. Eight of 29 patients have experienced rejection, which was successfully treated in seven of eight patients. Five of these patients had pathological evidence of a humoral component of their rejection. Seven of the 29 patients were converted to standard triple therapy on account of rejection. Rapamycin was generally well tolerated in that there were no significant wound-healing problems; two lymphoceles required surgical drainage; and most patients were treated with a lipid-lowering agent. Flow crossmatch testing post-transplant revealed evidence of alloantibody in two patients tested with previous combined cellular and humoral rejection. Biopsies have shown no chronic allograft nephropathy to date. In view of the relatively high incidence of early humoral rejection, we plan to modify the immunosuppressive regimen in subsequent pilot studies. This clinical trial provides insight into the use of Campath-1H induction in combination with rapamycin maintenance monotherapy.

Background. Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) remains a major barrier to long-term allograft survival. The authors retrospectively compared the development of CAN in recipients of cadaveric (CAD), living-related donor (LRD), and living-unrelated donor (LURD) transplants at their center. Methods. The authors retrospectively examined the impact of various factors on the incidence of CAN using univariate and multivariate proportional hazards analysis in a single-center kidney transplant population. Results. Between 1 January 1990 and 31 May 2000, 2,140 kidney-alone transplants were performed at the authors' center. The overall 5-year incidence of biopsy-proven CAN was 12.2% (n=203). Risk factors for CAN included the number of transplants (P=0.0001), acute rejection (P=0.0001), panel reactive antibody (P=0.0001), discharge creatinine (P=0.0001), 1-year creatinine (P=0.0015), delayed graft function (P=0.007), total human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B and -DR mismatches (P=0.0005), recipient age (P=0.003), black donor race (P=0.001), black recipient race (0.0457), donor age (P=0.0053), cold storage time (P=0.019), and cytomegalovirus infections (P=0.002). Interestingly, although the LRD HLA-identical recipients had a significantly lower incidence of CAN (P=0.0015), the incidence of CAN in CAD and HLA-nonidentical LRD recipients did not differ. Graft survival was significantly worse in CAD recipients compared with all other groups (P

Background Transplantation of the pancreas has become the treatment of choice for selected patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. With the current shortage of cadaver donors and the increasing number of diabetic patients on the transplant waiting list, there is a critical need to optimally use all available pancreas grafts for transplantation. We have therefore explored the use of traditionally "less-than-ideal" pancreas donors, including pediatric (4-10 years), older (>or=45 years), obese (weight >or=200 lb), and non-heart-beating donors and donors with an elevated amylase (75% greater than normal values). Methods A total of 620 primary simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantations were performed at our center. We analyzed the ratio of livers to pancreata transplanted at our center and compared this to the United Network for Organ Sharing database. Using univariate and multivariate analyses, we then assessed the impact of these less-than-ideal donors on patient survival, graft survival, and postsurgical complications after simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation. Results A substantial nationwide underutilization of pancreata from donor procurements is demonstrated in the United Network for Organ Sharing database. By using these less-than-ideal donors, the ratio of liver to pancreata procured can be reduced to 1.25:1. Graft survival was not significantly different in patients receiving transplants from obese, non-heart-beating, pediatric, or hyperamylasemic donors compared with grafts from ideal donors. However, grafts from donors 45 years of age or older had significantly lower 1- and 5-year graft survival rates (76% and 65% vs. 90% and 80%, P=0.006). Conclusions This study demonstrates that utilization of pancreas grafts from selected, less-than-ideal donors results in good overall outcomes and could potentially expand the organ donor pool.

The shortage of available donor hearts continues to limit cardiac transplantation. For this reason, strict criteria have limited the number of patients placed on the US waiting list to ≈6000 to 8000 per year. Because the number of available donor hearts has not increased beyond ≈2500 per year, the transplant waiting list mortality rate remains substantial. Suboptimal and variable utilization of donor hearts has compounded the problem in the United States. In 1999, the average donor yield from 55 US regions was 39%, ranging from 19% to 62%. This report provides the detailed cardiac recommendations from the conference on “Maximizing Use of Organs Recovered From the Cadaver Donor” held March 28 to 29, 2001, in Crystal City, Va. The specific objective of the report is to provide recommendations to improve the evaluation and successful utilization of potential cardiac donors. The report describes the accuracy of current techniques such as echocardiography in the assessment of donor heart function before recovery and the impact of these data on donor yield. The rationale for and specific details of a donor-management pathway that uses pulmonary artery catheterization and hormonal resuscitation are provided. Administrative recommendations such as enhanced communication strategies among transplant centers and organ-procurement organizations, financial incentives for organ recovery, and expansion of donor database fields for research are also described.

Human T-cell lymphotrophic virus (HTLV)-I/II infection has been considered a contra-indication to organ donation due to the risk of transmission of infection and the subsequent development of either adult T-cell leukemia or HTLV-I-associated myelopathy. However, neither the incidence of HTLV-I/II infection in organ donors nor the risk of transmission of HTLV-I/II by solid organ transplantation has been defined. Further, it is not known if HTLV infection contributes to significant morbidity in solid organ recipients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of HTLV-I/II infection in organ donors in USA and to determine if transplanting these organs resulted in HTLV-related morbidity or mortality. We utilized the UNOS database to: (i) identify organ donors that were positive for HTLV-I or II infection between 1988 and 2000, and (ii) evaluate outcomes in the recipients of these organs. There were 25 HTLV-I/II-positive organ donors reported to UNOS between 1988 and 2000. Based on organ donors with a known HTLV-I/II status, the prevalence of HTLV-I infection in organ donors is 0.027% and the prevalence of HTLV-II is 0.064%. Twenty-two organs were transplanted from these HTLV-positive donors. There have been no reports of HTLV-I/II-related disease in the recipients with a median follow-up of 11.9 months. At our center, over the last 1.5 years there have been four multiorgan donors with false-positive HTLV-I/II screening assays, which resulted in the decision not to use organs from these donors. Based on the minimal chance of HTLV-related disease following transplantation of HTLV-I/II organs in this series, we recommend that careful consideration be given to transplanting organs from HTLV-I/II-positive organ donors.

BACKGROUND: The demand for organs has increased exponentially with a new name added to the United States waiting list every 16 min. As such, kidneys from medically marginal donors are being considered for transplantation more frequently, including kidneys from individuals already at risk for renal disease, e.g., diabetic donors. METHODS: We compared outcomes when using kidneys from donors with type 1 diabetes mellitus (D1) or type 2 diabetes mellitus (D2) at our center as a function of time. All patients with available data who underwent renal transplantation were evaluated (n=2013). RESULTS: Forty-two individuals were recipients of D1 or D2 donor kidneys. Thirty of these individuals did not have diabetes (R0). All patients received quadruple sequential immunosuppression with cyclosporine (CsA) or tacrolimus (FK506). Donor serum creatinine (Scr) values were not significantly different. D2 kidneys came from older donors (mean age, 56+/-10.4 years; P< or =0.01 vs. D1 and D0 donors). Mean discharge Scr was greater in nondiabetic D2 recipients (D2/R0, 2.45+/-1.3 mg/dl; P=0.0016 vs. D0/R0), and transplantation of D1 or D2 kidneys was associated with a significantly increased frequency of posttransplant proteinuria (P=0.0089). Interestingly, R0 recipients of D1 or D2 kidneys were more likely to initiate oral hypoglycemic therapy after transplant (P=0.04). However, rejection episodes were not significantly different among groups, and long-term graft survival and patient survival were similar among groups. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that diabetic kidneys can be safely used without risk to patient or graft survival. Preexisting diabetic injury in the donor may increase the risk for proteinuria, compromised renal function, and posttransplant glucose intolerance.

Background. Brain death has been shown to decrease graft function and survival in rodent models. The aim of this study was to evaluate how brain death affects graft viability in the donor and liver tolerance to cold preservation as assessed by survival in a canine transplant model.Methods. Beagle do