Evaluation of the stages involved in cold ischemia time in renal transplants in Chile

Cold ischemia time (CIT) is one of the factors that determine the evolution of a renal transplant; taking measures to reduce this time requires knowledge of its stages. The objective of this study was to evaluate the times in the stages that determine CIT in renal transplants.

We analyzed 108 donors and 201 kidney transplantations performed in Chile in 2008, establishing the CIT for the kidney transplanted by the center that extracted the kidneys (local kidney) and for the kidney transplanted in another center (shared kidney).

Average CIT was 18.8 hours: namely, 16.9 hours for local and 20.2 hours for shared kidneys (P = .0001484). CIT for cases in which samples were sent to histocompatibility laboratory prior to nephrectomy was 7.3 hours less than for those sent postnephrectomy. The mean time between the allocation of the kidney and the transplant was 7.3 hours; 5.6 hours for local kidneys and 8.4 hours for shared kidneys (P = .000007124).

We identified the stages at which intervention is possible to reduce the CIT, mainly for shared kidneys. All involved parties should make an effort to reduce this time.