Preservation of kidneys for transplantation. Assessment of ischemic damage by renal autoperfusion.

Autoperfusion of canine kidneys was investigated as an alternative method to determinate the ischmic organ damage following various preservation procedures. As a compromise between implantation of the donor kidney and normotherimic isolated perfusion, autoperfusion is shown to offer some advantages in the study of the pathophysiology of the ischemic damaged kidney. Within 3 hours of autoperfusion, we obtained detailed information about the immediate regenerative ability of the glomerular, tubular, and vascular functions following various sorts of ischemic trauma.