Search

We report surgical aspects of the first case of retransplantation of a kidney initially retrieved from a cadaveric donor, then on a first recipient which developed a recurrent severe and intractable thrombotic microangiopathy on the allograft.

The donor organ shortage has compelled transplant centers to use organs from nontraditional sources. One example is the reuse of a previously transplanted organ, such as a kidney or liver retrieved from a brain-dead allograft recipient. For the first time, we reused a previously transplanted kidney that experienced intractable recurrent thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) from a living allograft recipient. Within a few weeks posttransplantation, a deceased kidney allograft recipient developed intractable severe recurrent idiopathic TMA in the allograft despite intensive plasma exchanges and steroid and rituximab therapy. This required nephrectomy to cure TMA. The index recipient was believed to have a well-functioning allograft despite TMA (serum creatinine, 1.36 mg/dL [120 micromol/L]) and microalbuminuria with albumin of 1.2 g/dL [12 g/L]), and it appeared mildly damaged on biopsy examination. After donor and recipient informed consents were obtained and after approval of the French Agency of Biomedicine, the TMA allograft was reused and transplanted into a recipient whose original kidney disease was polycystic kidney disease. The retransplantation was uneventful, and at 6 months posttransplantation, the ultimate recipient's serum creatinine level was 1.06 mg/L (97 micromol/L) and albuminuria was 0.5 g/dL (5 g/L). A routine kidney biopsy showed mild glomerular lesions. After allograft nephrectomy, the donor's hematologic TMA symptoms dissipated within 10 days. We conclude that a kidney allograft with TMA recurrence can be successfully retransplanted into another recipient with excellent kidney function while still curing the first recipient of recurrent TMA. This might increase the number of kidney allografts from extended criteria donors.

Two or three different solutions may be used to preserve thoracic and abdominal organs during a single procurement. The aim of this prospective, multi-center, noncomparative study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Celsior (study solution, solution S) as a flushing and cold storage solution for both thoracic and abdominal organs. Between August 1999 and July 2000, 72 consecutive multiple-organ procurements were performed using solution S as the sole solution for flushing out and cold-storing thoracic and abdominal grafts. Two hundred and sixty-four grafts were implanted into 245 recipients (131 kidneys, 9 kidney-pancreases, 69 livers, 34 hearts and 6 heart-lungs). The mean cold ischemia time was 21 h for kidneys (26%>24 h); 11 h 26 min for pancreases, 9 h 16 min for livers (23%>12 h), and 2 h 58 min for hearts and lungs. No cardiac failure or arrhythmia occurred on graft reperfusion. Fourteen percent of kidney recipients had delayed graft function. The mean serum creatinine level at 3 months was 123 +/- 41 micromol/l. All pancreas recipients were insulin-free at 3 months. Primary graft nonfunction occurred in one liver recipient. Complete hepatic artery thrombosis occurred in six liver recipients during the first month; four of these patients had a risk factor for thrombosis. All but three of the heart recipients were in sinus rhythm on day 1, and 65% were extubated on day 1. Inotropic drugs were necessary during the first 72 h in 25% of heart recipients. Twelve-month patient and graft survival rates were, respectively, 100% and 96% (kidney), 100% and 89% (pancreas), 88% and 83% (liver), 77.5% (heart) and 67% (heart-lung). These results suggest that Celsior, a ready-to-use solution, is safe and effective for multiple organ procurement and preservation.

The goal of multiple organ procurement is to retrieve intact organs fully. This goal can only be reached if the organ dissection and preservation are optimal.

Organ and tissue procurement strongly increased during the past decades to become a common activity among accredited hospitals. Structuring efficient regional organ procurement organisations appear as an important goal in order to offer the relevant number and quality of transplants to the patients on the national waiting list maintained by the Etablissement français des Greffes. Two structures acting together coordinate organ and tissue procurement: (i)accredited hospitals allocate some medical and non medical personal interfacing; (ii) the Etablissement français des Greffes through one of its seven regional units or its national unit. These units are in charge with the operational responsibility of multiorgan and tissue retrieval co-ordination in their geographical area, with organ allocation and with an institutional role of local and regional organ procurement development and promotion.

Despite progress realised in transplantation and organ procurement, there is an increasing gap between the number of patients on the national waiting list and the number of harvested organs. As a result, the appropriate organs must be matched with the appropriate patient, with two constraints: equity and efficacy. In a context of lack of organs, another public health problematic is to conciliate both the interests of a given patient and the interests of those on the waiting lists. In 1996, the French secretary of state for health instituted a public consultation committee chaired by the vice-president of the Comité consultatif national d'éthique, Counsellor Jean Michaud, to study organ allocation rules and to plan recommendations for the future. Using, as a starting point, the allocation rules initiated in the past by France Transplant and transiently applied by l'Etablissement français des Greffes, the committee conducted a large audition of health care professionals concerned with transplantation, individuals qualified in ethics, laws, sociology or ethnology, politicians and a sample representation of the population. A new corpus of allocation rules and procedures was then defined according to the committee recommendations and the advice of all medico-surgical transplantation teams, and published as a ministerial order in the Journal officiel de la République française in november 1996. It specifies shared principles and organ by organ specific allocation rules.