When the living and the deceased cannot agree on organ donation: a survey of US organ procurement organizations (OPOs).

The legal concept of first person authorization (FPA) is based on the principle that a decision by a person with decision-making capacity should be respected even after he or she dies. Although the transplant community largely supports this concept, its implementation has not been universal. We conducted a web-based survey of all 58 Organ Procurement Organization (OPO)executive directors in the United States to assess OPOs' procurement policies and practices in the context of family objections. All 58 respondents(100%) responded to our survey. All OPOs except one have an online donor registration website. Most OPOs(89%) (51 of 57 respondents) estimated that the frequency of family objecting to organ donation in cases of registered donors was <10%. No OPOs reported the frequency to be higher than 25%. Only 50% (27 of 54) of the OPOs have a written policy on handling family objections. Approximately 80% of the OPOs reported honoring FPA. However, in the past 5 years, 20 OPOs (35%) have not yet participated in organ procurement from a registered deceased donor over family objection. Further research to identify the barriers and possible solutions to implementing FPA is warranted.

A comparison of alemtuzumab with basiliximab induction in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation.

Alemtuzumab is a humanized, rat monoclonal antibody directed against the CD52 antigen. After binding, alemtuzumab causes profound and durable depletion and has been successfully used as immune induction therapy for organ transplantation. This was a single center, retrospective review of patients who underwent simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation at the University of Wisconsin using alemtuzumab induction therapy compared with historical controls that received induction with basiliximab. There were no differences in donor or recipient demographics, rates of patient survival, renal or pancreas allograft survival, renal allograft delayed graft function, EBV infection, BKV infection, PTLD or sepsis. There was a statistically significant increase in the incidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in the alemtuzumab-treated group. Given the significantly higher incidence of CMV infections, we have since altered our induction protocol to consist of a single 30 mg dose of alemtuzumab instead of two doses. The long-term effects of this change remain to be seen. Due to the results seen in this study, the low initial cost of the drug and the absence of any severe, short-term side effects, alemtuzumab has been selected as the induction drug of choice at our center for patients undergoing SPK.

Kidney function after solitary pancreas transplantation.

Preserving kidney function in patients after solitary pancreas transplantation (SPTx) is an important consideration, yet various factors may negatively impact long-term function of the native kidneys or kidney allograft. To determine changes in kidney function over time in a series of patients receiving SPTx, we conducted a retrospective analysis and tracked changes in serum creatinine (SCr) and calculated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) from baseline to 6 months, 1 year, or 3 years after SPTx in a series of pancreas after kidney transplants PAK; (n = 61) and pancreas transplants alone PTA; (n = 27) performed at our institution. The mean follow-up for the PAK and PTA groups was 3.4 and 2.7 years, respectively. In this series, 8% of patients after SPTx developed significant kidney failure, defined by either initiation of dialysis or receiving a kidney transplant (PAK-6, PTA-1). Twenty seven percent of SPTx patients with a baseline GFR < 60 suffered either an elevated SCr > 2.2, dialysis, or kidney transplant, whereas no patients with a baseline GFR > 60 developed significant kidney dysfunction. In the PAK group, the GFR did not show significant deterioration over time. In contrast to relatively stable kidney function in PAK patients, PTA patients experienced overall significantly greater rates of decline over time. GFR in PTA patients decreased from 78 +/- 19 (40 to 114) mL/min/1.73 m2 at baseline to 65 +/- 20 at 1 year (P = .006), while SCr increased from 1.03 +/- 0.25 mg/dL to 1.28 +/- 0.43 over the same time period (P = .012). These data show that kidney function may deteriorate after SPTx and proper patient selection may reduce the frequency of this complication.

Fluoroscopically guided vs modified traditional placement of tunneled hemodialysis catheters: clinical outcomes and cost analysis.

Tunneled cuffed internal jugular vein catheters are widely used to provide short to medium-term vascular access for hemodialysis. The NKF-K/DOQI guidelines state that fluoroscopy is mandatory for insertion of all cuffed dialysis catheters. The KDOQI recommendation makes it difficult for Nephrologists to perform this procedure without access to fluoroscopy. This results in unnecessary waiting times and the inappropriate use of acute, non-tunneled catheters. The purpose of this study is: 1) to compare the outcomes of fluoroscopically guided vs modified traditional catheter placement technique, and 2) to perform a cost analysis of the two techniques. We performed a retrospective investigation of 202 tunneled hemodialysis catheters performed at our tertiary care hospital. Procedural data were obtained from the University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine, Nephrology Section Interventional Nephrology procedural database. Patient demographics, laboratory tests were obtained from the University of Wisconsin Hospital electronic medical record (EMR). Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of blind vs fluoro-guided placement on clinical outcomes, corrected for side of procedure, age, gender, previous history of catheter placement, diabetes mellitus (DM), and pre-procedural coagulation parameters. Baseline characteristics of 'blind' vs fluoro-guided groups differed with respect to side of procedure and DM (91.0% vs 79.6%, p = 0.02 and 43.30% vs 58.40%, p = 0.02, respectively). Non-fluoroscopic placement of catheters was associated with a decreased odds ratio of immediate success (OR = 0.1298, CI = 0.02 - 0.71). No difference in major or minor bleeding complications was discovered between the blind vs fluoro-guided group. Cost analysis revealed that performing the non-fluoroscopic technique as the preferred initial procedure would represent a substantial reduction in total bills submitted to third-party payers, including Medicare.

Simultaneous pancreas-kidney and pancreas transplantation.

The best available method currently for achieving steady normoglycemia in individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) is replacing the pancreas, e.g. whole pancreas transplantation. Pancreatic transplantation, as either simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) or solitary pancreas transplantation alone (PTA), has moved beyond simple metabolic or quality-of-life goals. It is now an effective treatment to reverse or minimize metabolic abnormalities and complications of type 1 DM as well as potentially extend the life span of those afflicted by type 1 DM and its many co-morbid complications. Candidates for SPK and PTA transplantation need to meet various criteria even to undergo the transplant procedure and receive a pancreatic allograft that is deemed suitable. SPK and PTA recipients, though free from insulin use, still may encounter common post-transplant medical complications, e.g. cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, as well as complications unique to SPK and PTA transplantation. The advantages of PTA and SPK transplantation are frankly now more obvious as improvements in surgical technique and new immunosuppression have made an increasing number of PTA and SPK transplants viable and functional long-term. The idea of pancreas transplantation can be touted as a therapeutic advance for type 1 DM. It can improve survival and limit many diabetic-related complications, while improving quality of life, especially in those individuals also afflicted with diabetic-related kidney disease.

Living-unrelated renal transplantation at the University of Wisconsin.

Since 1984, we have performed 243 living-unrelated renal transplants at the University of Wisconsin. Rejection occurred in 47% of the patients. Graft loss occurred in 59 patients and 39 patients died. Graft survival in LURD transplants at 10 years is 54% and 43% at 15 years. Patient survival is 68% at 10 years and 54% at 15 years. These long-term results demonstrate that LURD is equivalent to haploidentical renal transplantation and superior to cadaveric transplantation. Husband-to-wife donation demonstrated improved graft survival when compared with wife-to-husband and nonspousal donation. Living-unrelated renal transplantation has been utilized successfully at the University of Wisconsin and may help to alleviate the donor shortage.

Liver transplantation from controlled non-heart-beating donors.

BACKGROUND: The use of organs from non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) has been proposed as one way to increase the donor pool. However, few centers have transplanted livers from NHBDs. We report here the results of 19 liver transplants from controlled NHBDs. METHODS: From January 1993 through August 1999, 364 liver transplantations were performed from heart-beating donors (HBDs) and 19 liver transplantations were performed from NHBDs. Donor and recipient characteristics, posttransplant complications, and patient and allograft survival were compared. RESULTS: No differences in hepatic artery, portal vein, or biliary complications were noted between the groups. However, the rate of primary nonfunction was higher in recipients of livers from NHBDs (10.5% vs. 1.3%; P = .04). No difference in patient survival was seen between recipients of NHBDs or HBDs (72.6% vs. 84.8%; P =.36); however, allograft survival was lower in recipients who received livers from NHBDs (53.8% vs. 80.9%; P =.007). CONCLUSIONS: Liver transplantation from controlled NHBDs results in similar patient survival and post-transplant complications. However, primary nonfunction was higher and allograft survival was less in recipients of livers from NHBDs. The results of liver transplantation from controlled NHBDs are encouraging and should continue to be cautiously pursued as one way to help alleviate the current shortage of donor livers.