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An extended-term follow-up examine from a consortium of six European international locations, coordinated by the division of Surgical procedure of the College Medical Middle Groningen (UMCG) reveals that, even 10 years after transplantation, deceased-donor kidneys carried out higher after they have been preserved on a machine between organ retrieval and transplantation than those who underwent static chilly storage earlier than implantation. These outstanding outcomes have been revealed within the New England Journal of Medication on November 6, 2025.
Machine preservation trial
Corresponding writer Cyril Moers, scientist and transplant surgeon on the UMCG, explains, “These thrilling outcomes originate from a novel long-term follow-up examine of the landmark Machine Preservation Trial, which was additionally coordinated from Groningen.
“That medical examine discovered that chilly machine perfusion of deceased-donor kidneys (preserving them on a pump) yielded higher short-term transplant outcomes than static chilly storage. Kidney operate would begin earlier in recipients, and after 1 and three years extra kidneys have been nonetheless useful. These early outcomes have been additionally revealed within the New England Journal of Medication, in 2009 and 2012.
Extra kidneys nonetheless useful after 10 years
Therefore, the investigators contacted all 55 transplant facilities within the six European international locations the place the 818 kidneys from the Machine Preservation Trial had been transplanted, to learn the way all these sufferers and kidneys have been doing 10 years later.
They discovered that, general, extra kidneys have been nonetheless useful after they had been machine perfused than those who had undergone static chilly storage (79% vs. 73%). This distinction was much more pronounced for kidneys that had a below-average high quality as a result of they have been retrieved from so-called ‘expanded-criteria donors’ (70% vs. 60% nonetheless useful after 10 years). Affected person survival and organ operate of kidneys that also labored 10 years post-transplant have been comparable between the 2 examine teams.
In abstract, these long-term findings have offered extra help for the prevalence of chilly machine perfusion over static chilly storage for the preservation of deceased-donor kidneys.
What’s chilly machine perfusion?
Chilly, or ‘hypothermic’ machine perfusion is a method by which a chilly (1-10°C) organ preservation answer is continually recirculated by means of the blood vessels of the donor kidney. Most machines are transportable and simple to make use of.
Sometimes, machine perfusion is initiated on the donor hospital instantly after organ retrieval and continued till shortly earlier than the transplantation commences within the transplant heart.
Extra data:
New England Journal of Medication (2025). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2406608
Offered by
College Medical Middle Groningen
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Donor kidneys carry out higher after machine perfusion, 10-year follow-up finds (2025, November 5)
retrieved 5 November 2025
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