Surgeon preimplantation macroscopic graft appraisal improves risk stratification of deceased kidney donors: a prospective study

BACKGROUND Preimplantation scores assist with correct kidney graft allocation, but macroscopic graft features have never been evaluated in this scenario. METHODS We designed a graft appraisal questionnaire, assessed its reproducibility by comparing the senior and junior surgeon responses and evaluated which features can predict transplant outcomes in 202 patients transplanted from 144 donors at a tertiary centre. We created new prediction models in combination with validated preimplantation scores. The primary outcome was graft loss or eGFR