Comparison of Recipient Outcomes After Kidney Transplantation: In-House Versus Imported Deceased Donors

Abstract

Background. Increased cold ischemia time in cadaveric kidney transplants has been associated with a high rate of delayed graft function (DGF), and even with graft survival. Kidney transplantation using in-house donors reduces cold preservation time. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes after transplantation in house and externally. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of donors and recipients of 135 deceased-donor kidney transplantations performed in our center from March 2009 to March 2016. Results. Among the 135 deceased donors, 88 (65.2%) received the kidneys from in-house donors. Median cold ischemia time of transplantation from in-house donors was shorter than for imported donors (180.00 vs 300.00 min; P < .001). The risks of DGF and slow graft function were increased among the imported versus in-house donors. Imported kidney was independently associated with greater odds of DGF in multivariate regression analysis (odds ratio, 4.165; P = .038). However, the renal function of recipients at 1, 3, 5, and 7 years after transplantation was not significantly different between the 2 groups. Conclusions. Transplantation with in-house donor kidneys was significantly associated with a decreased incidence of DGF, but long-term graft function and survival were similar compared with imported donor kidneys.