Rapid harvesting both kidneys from one donor rat for transplantation with a technique of sharp dissection after...

The comparisons of two different methods of donor nephrectomy were performed in this study. Fisher inbred rats were used as donors and recipients of kidneys. In method A (the conventional technique), meticulous blunt dissection of the abdominal aorta, inferior vena cava, and renal arteries/veins, was followed by ligating and cutting the superior mesenteric artery and small vessels entering the above vessels. Both donor kidneys were irrigated after the suprarenal aorta and inferior vena cava were cross-clamped (n = 10). In method B, donor rats were systematically irrigated by infrarenal aorta catheterization following laparotomy, then the vessels were sharply mobilized using a pair of microscissors to directly cut the fat and adherent connective tissues away from the edge of the vessels (n = 10). Isotransplantation was performed by end-to-side anastomosis of the blood vessels and end-to-end anastomosis of the ureters. Irrigating the donor kidney before dissection provided a clear visual field, reduced the operation time (37.50 ± 6.84 versus 68.30 ± 11.53 minutes, p < 0.001), facilitated the dissection of vessels, and reduced the risk of vasospasm (5 out of 19 versus 0 out of 18, p < 0.05). This study has demonstrated the proposed technique is fast and safe, and may be useful in research of renal transplantation in the rat model.