The importance of perfusate content of free fatty acids for dog kidney preservation.

Forty-eight-hour preservation of dog kidneys utilizing continuous hypothermic perfusion was carried out in two groups of dogs. In the first group an albumin electrolyte solution with a high content of free fatty acids was used as perfusate. In the second group the perfusate contained the same components as the first solution except that the fatty acids had been removed from the albumin before use. After preservation, the kidneys were reimplanted, and contralateral nephrectomy was immediately performed. The renal function was measured by serial creatinine determinations. The postoperative renal function was significantly better in the group perfused with fatty-acid-rich perfusate. The results suggest that the level of free fatty acids in the perfusion solution is of importance for kidney preservation.