Effect of donor surgeon on first cadaver kidney transplant function

Community urologists and general surgeons were recruited into a cadaver kidney program in 1976. This study from 1 center compares 41 primary cadaver kidney grafts retrieved by community hospital retrieval teams to 60 primary cadaver kidney grafts retrieved by a center based transplant team. Of the kidneys 100 were preserved with Collins' C2 flushing followed by simple cold storage and 1 was preserved with pulsatile machine perfusion. Cold storage time ranged from 9 to 44.5 hours in the community hospital kidney group and from 11 to 44 hours in the university hospital group. There was no significant difference between the 2 kidney retrieval teams with respect to 1) incidence of acute tubular necrosis, 2) 1-month serum creatinine nadir of surviving grafts, 3) 1 and 2 year serum creatinine levels and 4) actuarial graft survivals up to 5 years. Community hospital retrieval teams can provide kidneys as satisfactory for transplantation as a center based transplant team and are a valuable resource for cadaver kidney transplant programs.