BackgroundA program of normothermic ex situ liver perfusion (NESLiP) was developed to facilitate better assessment and use of marginal livers, while minimizing cold ischemia.MethodsDeclined marginal livers and those offered for research were evaluated. Normothermic ex situ liver perfusion was performed using an erythrocyte-based perfusate. Viability was assessed with reference to biochemical changes in the perfusate.ResultsTwelve livers (9 donation after circulatory death [DCD] and 3 from brain-dead donors), median Donor Risk Index 2.15, were subjected to NESLiP for a median 284 minutes (range, 122-530 minutes) after an initial cold storage period of 427 minutes (range, 222-877 minutes). The first 6 livers were perfused at high perfusate oxygen tensions, and the subsequent 6 at near-physiologic oxygen tensions. After transplantation, 5 of the first 6 recipients developed postreperfusion syndrome and 4 had sustained vasoplegia; 1 recipient experienced primary nonfunction in conjunction with a difficult explant. The subsequent 6 liver transplants, with livers perfused at lower oxygen tensions, reperfused uneventfully. Three DCD liver recipients developed cholangiopathy, and this was associated with an inability to produce an alkali bile during NESLiP.ConclusionsNormothermic ex situ liver perfusion enabled assessment and transplantation of 12 livers that may otherwise not have been used. Avoidance of hyperoxia during perfusion may prevent postreperfusion syndrome and vasoplegia, and monitoring biliary pH, rather than absolute bile production, may be important in determining the likelihood of posttransplant cholangiopathy. Normothermic ex situ liver perfusion has the potential to increase liver utilization, but more work is required to define factors predicting good outcomes.

During heart transplantation, storage in cold preservation solution is thought to protect the organ by slowing metabolism; by providing osmotic support; and by minimising ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) injury upon transplantation into the recipient 1,2 . Despite its widespread use our understanding of the metabolic changes prevented by cold storage and how warm ischaemia leads to damage is surprisingly poor. Here, we compare the metabolic changes during warm ischaemia (WI) and cold Users may view, print, copy, and download text and data-mine the content in such documents, for the purposes of academic research, subject always to the full Conditions of use:

Elevation of the NLR during the first 48 h of admission is significantly associated with severe acute pancreatitis and is an independent negative prognostic indicator in AP.

We report the successful transplantation of a pair of human kidneys that were declined for transplantation due to inadequate in situ perfusion but subsequently transplanted after perfusion and assessment using ex vivo normothermic perfusion (EVNP). The kidneys were from a 35‐year‐old man, a donation after circulatory death donor. Both kidneys were declined by all UK transplant centers. On arrival, the kidneys had significant areas of incomplete clearance of blood from the microcirculation that did not clear after a further attempt to flush them. Kidneys underwent 60 min of EVNP with an oxygenated packed red blood cell–based solution warmed to 35.2°C. During EVNP, the patchy areas cleared in both kidneys. The mean renal blood flow and total urine output were 68.0 mL/min/100 g and 560 mL in the left kidney and 59.9 mL/min/100 g, 430 mL in the right, respectively. Based on the EVNP perfusion parameters, both kidneys were deemed suitable for transplantation. They were transplanted without any complications, and both recipients had initial graft function. The serum creatinine levels at 3 months were 1.2 mg/dl in the recipient of the left kidney and 1.62 mg/dl in the recipient of the right kidney. EVNP technology can be used to assess and rescue kidneys previously deemed unsuitable for transplantation.