Techniques of orthotopic renal transplantation. II. Size-matched porcine grafts in monkey recipients

ABSTRACT Purpose As a classical xenotransplantation model, porcine kidneys have been transplanted into the lower abdomen of non-human primates. However, we have improved upon this model by using size-matched grafting in the orthotopic position. The beneficial aspects and surgical details of our method are reported herein. Methods Donors were two newborn pigs (weighting 5 to 6 kg) and recipients were two cynomolgus monkeys (weighting, approximately, 7 kg). After bilateral nephrectomy, kidneys were cold-transported in Euro-Collins solution. The porcine kidney was transplanted to the site of a left nephrectomy and fixed to the peritoneum. Results Kidneys transplanted to the lower abdomen by the conventional method were more susceptible to torsion of the renal vein (two cases). In contrast, early-stage blood flow insufficiency did not occur in orthotopic transplants of theleft kidney. Conclusions Size-matched porcine-primate renal grafting using our method of transplanting tothe natural position of the kidneys contributes to stable post-transplant blood flow to the kidney.