Impact of the educational resource one life many gifts on attitudes of secondary school students towards organ and tissue donation and transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Increased awareness of organ donation/transplantation has been found to have a positive influence on organ donation rates. One Life … Many Gifts is a curriculum resource in Ontario, Canada, to educate and raise awareness for senior secondary school students about the importance of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Teachers administered pre- and post- attitudinal surveys to senior secondary school students to evaluate changes in their attitudes toward organ and tissue donation and transplantation. In this study, the effect of the One Life … Many Gifts educational intervention on changing the attitudes and awareness of organ donation and transplantation of senior secondary students was assessed. METHODS: Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare the pre- and post-surveys as a whole and then again for the data from individual schools. Kruskal-Wallis H-tests were used to compare data between schools. RESULTS: A total of 1832 pre- and 1440 post-educational surveys returned to Trillium Gift of Life Network were assessed in the 2008-2009 academic year. Overall, comparison of all pre- and post-educational program survey data showed significant improvement in the students' attitudes toward organs and tissue donation and transplantation (P = .00625). CONCLUSION: The One Life … Many Gifts program made an impact on changing the attitudes toward and awareness of organ donation among high school students in Ontario. Evaluation of its impact on donor registration and organ donation among the students and their parents is complex and remains to be seen.

Acute Page kidney following renal allograft biopsy: a complication requiring early recognition and treatment.

The acute Page kidney phenomenon occurs as a consequence of external compression of the renal parenchyma leading to renal ischemia and hypertension. Between January 2000 and September 2007, 550 kidney transplants and 518 ultrasound-guided kidney biopsies were performed. During that time, four recipients developed acute oligo-anuria following ultrasound-guided allograft biopsy. Emergent doppler-ultrasounds were performed demonstrating absence of diastolic flow as well as a sub-capsular hematoma of the kidney. Prompt surgical exploration with allograft capsulotomy was performed in all cases. Immediately after capsulotomy, intraoperative Doppler study demonstrated robust return of diastolic flow. Three patients maintained good graft function, and one kidney was lost due to acute antibody-mediated rejection. We conclude that postbiopsy anuria associated with a subcapsular hematoma and acute absence of diastolic flow on doppler ultrasound should be considered pathognomonic of APK. All renal transplant specialists should be able to recognize this complication, because immediate surgical decompression can salvage the allograft.

Robotic pyeloplasty using internet protocol and satellite network-based telesurgery.

BACKGROUND: In North America, the urological community has embraced surgical robotic technology in the performance of complex laparoscopic surgery. The performance of complex long-distance telesurgery requires further investigation prior to clinical application. METHODS: The feasibility of laparoscopic robot-assisted pyeloplasty in a porcine model was assessed using the Zeus robot and the internet protocol virtual private network (IP-VPNe) and satellite links. Eighteen pyeloplasty procedures were performed, using real-time, IP-VPNe and satellite network connection (six of each). Network and objective operative data were collected. RESULTS: Despite network delays and jitter, it was feasible to perform the pyeloplasty procedure without significant detriment in operative time or surgical results compared with real-time surgery. CONCLUSION: The completion of complex tasks such as robotic pyeloplasty is feasible using both land-line and satellite telesurgery. However, the clinical relevance of telesurgery requires further assessment.

Anti-CD45RB monoclonal antibody prolongs renal allograft survival in cynomolgus monkeys.

Previously, an anti-CD45RB monoclonal antibody (mAb) has been shown to induce murine allograft tolerance. The present study was performed to assess the ability of an anti-human CD45RB mAb to prevent rejection in a monkey MHC-mismatched kidney transplant model. The recipients were allocated into the following treatment groups: (1) isotype control IgG; (2) mouse anti-human CD45RB IgG1 (6G3); (3) human-mouse chimeric anti-CD45RB-IgG1 (C6G3-IgG1); (4) human-mouse chimeric anti-CD45RB-IgG2 (C6G3-IgG2); (5) tacrolimus at a subtherapeutic dose and (6) tacrolimus and C6G3-IgG1 in combination. Monotherapy with anti-CD45RB mAb significantly prolonged renal allograft survival to a median survival of 21 days. Adding a subtherapeutic dose of tacrolimus improved the efficacy of the anti-CD45RB mAb, achieving a median survival of 85 days, whereas a subtherapeutic dose of tacrolimus alone only moderately prolonged survival to 27 days. Treatment with anti-CD45RB mAb resulted in an alteration of the CD45RB(hi) : CD45RB(lo) cell ratio in the peripheral blood. We have, for the first time, demonstrated that an anti-human CD45RB mAb (6G3) can prolong graft survival. Induction with an anti-CD45RB mAb improves the efficacy of tacrolimus in the prevention of rejection. These encouraging results indicate that an anti-CD45RB mAb may be valuable in future clinical transplantation.

Prolongation of allograft survival by administration of anti-CD45RB monoclonal antibody is due to alteration of CD45RBhi: CD45RBlo T-cell proportions.

CD45RB monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy is capable of prolonging allograft survival. We have previously shown that CD45RB mAb enriches the CD45RBlo T-cell population in vitro and in vivo by preferentially depleting CD45RBhi T cells. The present study assessed the importance of CD45RBhi T-cell depletion in murine cardiac allograft survival by infusion of naive CD45RB T-cell subsets. Here we show that naturally occurring CD45RBloCD4+ T cells express regulatory transcription factor Foxp3 and have regulatory function, whereas CD45RBhiCD4+ T cells express low levels of Foxp3 and have effector function. Infusion of syngeneic CD45RBhi T cells significantly reduced graft survival after depletion of CD45RBhi T cells by CD45RB mAb. Reduction of graft survival also occurred when syngeneic CD45RBhi T cells were infused into rapamycin-treated mice, whereas survival was prolonged when CD45RBlo T cells were added. This indicates that an alteration in the balance between regulatory CD45RBlo and effector CD45RBhi T cells is critical to the immunologic function of CD45RB mAb. A strategy to eliminate effector T cells with consequent enrichment of the regulatory T-cell compartment may be an important new strategy in the prevention of rejection.

Long-term follow-up of pediatric en bloc renal transplantation.

We reviewed the outcomes of pediatric en bloc renal transplantation at two Canadian centers in the cyclosporine era. Between 1984 and 2002, 16 patients received pediatric en bloc renal transplants. Mean recipient age and weight were 45 +/- 17 years and 72.2 +/- 14.4 kg, respectively. En bloc kidneys were procured from donors aged 2.1 +/- 0.8 years (range, 0.7 to 4.0), weighing an average of 14.3 +/- 2.0 kg (range, 12 to 17). All en bloc kidneys were successfully transplanted without thrombosis. All patients received calcineurin inhibitors and corticosteroids. Only three patients received antibody-based induction therapy. Rejection episodes occurring in seven grafts were all successfully treated. Mean follow-up was 3.7 years (range 0.4 to 15.0). Mean serum creatinine values at 3 months and 1 and 3 years were 138.8 +/- 54.5 micromol/L, 118.6 +/- 38.1 micromol/L, and 95.1 +/- 24.4 micromol/L, respectively. The mean creatinine value of five patients with at least 5 years follow-up was 96.8 +/- 12.3 micromol/L. Three-year graft and patient survival rates were 94%. Two deaths with functioning grafts occurred secondary to cardiac and infectious etiologies. None of the grafts were lost independent of death. We conclude that en bloc transplantation has excellent short- and long-term results. Improving graft function after 3 years represented by reduced serum creatinine suggests that these kidneys have excellent renal reserve and growth potential.

Mesh hood fascial closure in renal allograft compartment syndrome.

Renal allograft compartment syndrome (RACS) is an underreported and poorly described surgical complication of renal transplantation. It occurs when a tight fascial closure compresses the graft in its limited retroperitoneal space. Without early recognition and reexploration, graft loss is inevitable. We describe a technique using a polypropylene mesh fascial closure (MHFC) to prevent and treat RACS. MHFC was performed primarily to prevent RACS and secondarily to treat this complication. Between April 2001 and October 2002, 16 patients undergoing 17 renal transplants underwent MHFC. Mean recipient body weight was 17% less than the mean donor weight. Mean follow-up was 9 months. Mean serum creatinine after primary MHFC was 148.4 micromol/L. Three of four patients with RACS regained function following secondary MHFC and had a mean serum creatinine of 155.3 micromol/L. Wound complications were seen in 5 (31%) with no wound or mesh infections and one patient was diagnosed with a lymphocele. We conclude that MHFC can be safely performed after kidney transplantation to prevent or treat RACS.