Kidney temperature course during living organ procurement and transplantation

Summary Little is known about the actual kidney graft temperature during the 2nd warm ischemia time ( WIT 2). We aimed to determine the actual temperature course of the WIT 2, with emphasis on the 15 °C metabolic threshold. Data of 152 consecutive adult living donor kidney transplantations were collected. The mean WIT 2 was 41.3 ± 10.1 ( SD ) minutes with a temperature of 5.4 °C at baseline which gradually increased to 13.7, 17.4, and 20.2 °C after 10, 20, and 30 min, respectively. The percentage of kidneys with a temperature of 15 °C or higher was 81.2% after 20 min and 97.5% after 30 min. Duration of surgery (95% CI : −0.017 to −0.002, P = 0.02), multiple veins (95% CI : 0.0003–2.720, P = 0.05) and WIT 2 (95% CI : 0.016–0.099, P = 0.006) were associated with a rapid temperature increase. No correlation could be determined between a rapid temperature rise and diminished graft function. This study showed a rapid increase in kidney temperature during WIT 2, wherein the 15 °C threshold was reached within 20 min in more than 80% of the patients.