Comparison of imported with locally retrieved kidneys preserved by intracellular electrolyte flushing followed by cold storage

Ice-cold intracellular electrolyte flushing followed by cold storage and economy air shipment is the cheapest method to share kidneys for transplantation. This study from 1 center compares 62 primary cadaver kidney grafts imported from other centers to 128 that were retrieved locally. Cold ischemia time was 36.4 plus or minus 8.6 hours (mean plus or minus standard deviation) in the imported group and 24.2 plus or minus 8.8 hours in the locally retrieved group. The significant increase in first week dialysis (71 versus 42 per cent) and 1-month serum creatinine nadirs (2.63 plus or minus 2.73 versus 1.78 plus or minus 1.04 mg./dl.) was explained by longer cold ischemia times in the imported kidney grafts. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups with respect to actuarial kidney graft survivals and serum creatinine levels at 1, 2 and 3 years. Intracellular electrolyte flushing followed by simple cold storage and air transportation provides kidney graft survivals and long-term kidney graft function at minimal expense when the kidneys are retrieved from beating-heart cadavers and have undergone minimal warm ischemia.