Most people in need of a kidney wait three to five years on a national transplant list in the United States, according to the National Kidney Foundation. The most current list has more than 103,000 people on it. Over the years, transplant health care professionals have considered different options to increase the number of available kidneys.
This includes using "suboptimal kidneys," such as kidneys from donors who died after their circulatory and respiratory functions ceased, donors over 65, and those with diabetes and hypertension. However, other than the general Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI) score, there are few reliable ways to see if a particular kidney is functional and suitable for a transplant. But now, researchers at UC Davis Health are looking into an emerging method of easing the transplant waiting list: They are studying whether a procedure that extends the life of a donated kidney, after it's been removed from the body, will expand the donor pool.
The procedure is called ex vivo normothermic perfusion. What is ex vivo normothermic perfusion? Traditionally, donated organs are placed on ice, then quickly transplanted into a recipient. With ex vivo normothermic perfusion, a machine keeps organs warm by continuously pumping blood through them.
The process involves the donated kidney being placed inside a sterile steel container attached to a ventilator, pump and filters. Within the container, the kidney is maintained at normal body temperature and perfused with re.