Multiorgan procurement does not affect the immediate outcome of kidney transplants

The increasing number of organs required for transplantation has given an impetus to the development of techniques of multiorgan procurement from a single cadaver donor. We studied the effect of these techniques on the short-term outcome of kidney transplants. Between 1.1985 and 12.1989, 168 kidneys were procured by our team during multiorgan harvests, 166 of which were transplanted in our institution or elsewhere. Follow-up could be obtained for 161. The pancreas was retrieved simultaneously in 14 cases (9%); the pancreas and the liver in 34 (21%); the pancreas, the liver, and the heart in 73 (45%); the pancreas, the liver, the heart and the lungs in 24 (15%); the pancreas and the heart in 4 (2%), and the pancreas, the heart and the lungs in 2 (1%). We have incomplete information for 10 kidneys (7%). Immediate graft function occurred in 125 grafts (78%) (Group I); 31 kidneys (19%) had delayed graft function (DGF), 4 (2%) had technical failure (TF) (thrombosis), and 1 (1%) was a primary nonfunction (PNF) (Group II). Comparison with historical controls suggests that multiorgan retrieval had no impact on the incidence of DGF. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the determinant factor in immediate graft function was the length of preservation 20 ± 8 hours for Group I vs 26 ± 8 for Group II. Patients with DGF had normal creatinine values at 3 and 6 months, similar to those with immediate function. We conclude that the combined simultaneous procurement of the kidney and other organs does not affect the outcome of the kidney transplant. DGF is related to perservation time.