Prolonged human kidney preservation by intracellular electrolyte flush followed by cold storage.

No kidney transplant center responding to a kidney preservation questionnaire would accept a kidney flushed with an intracellular electrolyte solution and cold-stored for over 40 hours. This study from one center is a comparison of 50 primary cadaver kidney grafts preserved with an intracellular electrolyte flush followed by cold storage for 40 to 61 hours to 82 primary cadaver kidney grafts preserved by the same method for 9 to 24 hours. Kidneys cold-stored for over 40 hours had a significantly increased requirement for dialysis in the 1st week following transplantation (82% versus 34%) and a significantly increased 1-month serum creatinine nadir (2.3 mg/dL versus 1.7 mg/dL). Actuarial graft survivals and serum creatinine levels at 1, 2, and 3 years after grafting were not significantly different. Cadaver donor methylprednisolone (30 to 60 mg/kg) two to nine hours prior to kidney removal significantly reduced the requirement for 1st-week hemodialysis in the kidneys cold-stored for over 40 hours (60% versus 91%). Kidneys preserved by flushing with cold intracellular electrolyte solution can be successfully transplanted after over 40 hours of simple cold storage when the warm ischemia time is very short.