Do donor age and cold-ischemia time have a detrimental effect on early pancreas-allograft function?

To study the impact of donor age and cold-ischemia time (CIT) on early graft function, we retrospectively divided the donors of 51 pancreas transplants performed between 1979 and 1987 at Innsbruck University Hospital into four groups according to donor age (greater than 45 yr and less than 15 yr) and CIT (greater than 8 h and less than 3 h). All organs were perfused with Eurocollins solution and stored at 4 degrees C. Fasting blood glucose levels and total amount of pancreatic juice produced over the first 3 postoperative days were recorded to assess graft function. No statistically significant difference was found between groups 1 and 2 and between groups 3 and 4. From these data, it is concluded that with the preservation method used, CIT can without a doubt be extended to at least 12 h, and a maximum donor age similar to that for the kidney can be adopted. This might not only enlarge the donor pool but also facilitate distant organ procurement.