Pros and cons of live kidney donation in prediabetics: A critical review and way forward

There is shortage of organs,including kidneys,worldwide.Along with deceased kidney transplantation,there is a significant rise in live kidney donation.The prevalence of prediabetes(PD),including impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance,is on the rise across the globe.Transplant teams frequently come across prediabetic kidney donors for evaluation.Prediabetics are at risk of diabetes,chronic kidney disease,cardiovascular events,stroke,neuropathy,retinopathy,dementia,depression and nonalcoholic liver disease along with increased risk of all-cause mortality.Unfortunately,most of the studies done in prediabetic kidney donors are retrospective in nature and have a short follow up period.There is lack of prospective long-term studies to know about the real risk of complications after donation.Furthermore,there are variations in recommendations from various guidelines across the globe for donations in prediabetics,leading to more confusion among clinicians.This increases the responsibility of transplant teams to take appropriate decisions in the best interest of both donors and recipients.This review focuses on pathophysiological changes of PD in kidneys,potential complications of PD,other risk factors for development of type 2 diabetes,a review of guidelines for kidney donation,the potential role of diabetes risk score and calculator in kidney donors and the way forward for the evaluation and selection of prediabetic kidney donors.

Changing landscape in living kidney donation in Greece

Patients with end-stage renal disease in Greece are facing long waiting times to receive a kidney transplant from a deceased donor.Living kidney donation offers a valuable alternative that provides optimal outcomes and significantly expands the donor pool but still remains relatively underutilised.Developments around the world in the field of kidney transplantation mandate a change in current practice to include additional options for living donation through paired exchange,antibody-incompatible transplantation and other strategies,following careful consideration of the cultural and ethical factors involved in these complex clinical decisions.An increase in living donation rates may be achieved in several ways,including targeted campaigning to overcome potential barriers.Educating clinicians on transplantation will prove as equally important as informing patients and prospective donors but requires training and resources.Adoption of established practices and implementation of new strategies must be tailored to the needs of the Greek donor and recipient population.Local beliefs about donation,perception of associated risk and other social characteristics must be considered in the design of future strategies.Facilitating living donation in a safe environment with appropriate donor and recipient education will form the solid foundation of a new era of kidney transplantation in Greece.

Unspecified live kidney donation by urological patients

BACKGROUND Individuals with benign kidney disorders undergoing nephrectomy have three possibilities:Autotransplantation,with a certain risk of complications,but without a clear benefit;discarding the kidney;or living kidney donation.AIM To investigate whether patients with benign kidney disorders and a medical indication for nephrectomy are suitable as unspecified live kidney donors.METHODS We searched all clinical data from 1994-2019 for unspecified donors and their transplant recipients(n=160).Nine of these 160 donors had pre-existing kidney disorders necessitating nephrectomy and had decided to donate their kidney anonymously after discussing the possibility of kidney donation.We studied the clinical course of these nine donating patients and their transplant recipients.RESULTS Seven of nine donating patients indicated unbearable loin pain as the main complaint,one donating patient refused ureterocutaneostomy and one had two aneurysms of the renal artery.Postoperatively,seven donating patients described absence of pain and one a significant reduction after the nephrectomy.The average 1-year creatinine level in the donating patients was 88μmol/L and after a median of 6.9 years the average creatinine level was 86.6μmol/L.In the transplant recipients,one major complication occurred which led to death and in one transplant recipient graft function failed to normalize at first but has been stable for nine years now.Currently,all transplant recipients are off dialysis.CONCLUSION Our data show that patients undergoing nephrectomy as part of treatment in selected kidney disorders can function as live kidney donors.

Randomized intervention to assess the effectiveness of an educational video on organ donation intent among Hispanics in the New York metropolitan area

BACKGROUND The Hispanic community has a high demand for organ donation but a shortage of donors.Studies investigating factors that could promote or hinder organ donation have examined emotional video interventions.Factors acting as barriers to organ donation registration have been classified as:(1)Bodily integrity;(2)medical mistrust;(3)“ick”-feelings of disgust towards organ donation;and(4)“jinx”-fear that registration may result in one dying due to premeditated plans.We predict that by providing necessary information and education about the donation process via a short video,individuals will be more willing to register as organ donors.AIM To determine perceptions and attitudes regarding barriers and facilitators to organ donation intention among Hispanic residents in the New York metropolitan area.METHODS This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Northwell Health.The approval reference number is No.19-0009(as presented in Supplementary material).Eligible participants included Hispanic New York City(NYC)residents,18 years of age and above,who were recruited voluntarily through Cloud Research and participated in a larger randomized survey study of NYC residents.The survey an 85-item Redcap survey measured participant demographics,attitudes,and knowledge of organ donation as well as the intention to register as an organ donor.Attention checks were implemented throughout the survey,and responses were excluded for those who did fail.Participants were randomly assigned two-between subject conditions:To view a short video on organ donation and then proceed to complete the survey(i.e.,video first)and view the same video at the end of the survey(video last).No intra-group activities were conducted.This study utilized an evidenced-based emotive educational intervention(video)which was previously utilized and was shown to increase organ donation registration rates at the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles.Results were analyzed using Jamovi statistical software.Three hundred sixty-five Hispanic individuals were included in the analysis.Once consent was obtained and participants entered the survey(the survey sample is presented in Supplementary material),participants were asked to report on demographic variables and their general impression of organ donation after death.The video depicted stories regarding organ donation after death from various viewpoints,including from the loved ones of a deceased person who died waiting for a transplant;from the loved ones of a deceased person whose organs were donated upon death;and,from those who were currently waiting for a transplant.RESULTS Using a binomial logistic regression,the analysis provides information about the relationship between the effects of an emotive video and the intention to donate among Hispanic participants who were not already registered as donors.The willingness to go back and register was found to be significantly more probable for those who watched the emotive video before being asked about their organ donation opinions(odds ratio:2.05,95%confidence interval:1.06-3.97).Motivations for participation in organ donation were also captured with many stating the importance of messages coming from“people like me”and a message that highlights“the welfare of those in need”.Overall,the findings suggest that using an emotive video that addresses organ donation barriers to prompt organ donation intentions can be effective among the Hispanic populous.Future studies should explore using targeted messaging that resonates with specific cultural groups,highlighting the welfare of others.CONCLUSION This study suggests that an emotive educational intervention is likely to be effective in improving organ donation registration intent among the Hispanic population residing in NYC.

A Modified, Rapid and Safe Technique of Kidney Only Procurement from Donors after Circulatory and Brain Death (DCD, DBD)

There is currently a lack of standard kidney-only procurement technique. Known techniques such as kidney-only procurement using the standard multi-organ procurement technique could potentially cause more iatrogenic injuries due to less adequate exposure. An alternative using the live open kidney donation technique could also be less than ideal due to prior unknown anatomical variation and potential the inability to adequately topically cool the kidneys. We describe here a novel easy kidney-only technique leading to an improved exposure, better cold perfusion and topical cooling. Herein we show how total bowel evisceration can be achieved by stapling the hepatic hilum, superior mesenteric artery and coeliac trunk. There is a need of a kidney only procurement in order to increase the quality of deceased kidney donation in our opinion. Results have to be compared in the future to determine the potential benefits.

Current protocols and outcomes of ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation

One of the principal obstacles in transplantation from living donors is that approximately 30%are immunologically incompatible because of the presence in the recipient of antibodies directed against the human leukocyte antigen system of the donor or because of the incompatibility of the ABO system.The aim of this review is to describe the more recent data from the literature on the different protocols used and the clinical outcomes of ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation.Two different strategies are used to overcome these barriers:desensitization of the recipient to remove the antibodies and to prevent their rebound after transplantation and the exchange of organs between two or more pairs.The largest part of this review is dedicated to describing the techniques of desensitization.Even if the first reports of successful renal transplantation between ABO-incompatible pairs have been published by 1980,the number of ABO-incompatible transplants increased substantially in this century because of our improved knowledge of the immune system and the availability of new drugs.Rituximab has substantially replaced splenectomy.The technique of apheresis has improved and more recently a tailored desensitization proved to be the more efficient strategy avoiding an excess of immunosuppression with the related side effects.Recent reports document outcomes for such transplantation similar to the outcomes of standard transplantation.

Current practice of live donor nephrectomy in Turkey

BACKGROUND Over the last few years,the deceased donor organ donation rate was declined or remained stable,whereas the live donor organ donation rate has increased to compensate for the demand.Minimally invasive techniques for live donor nephrectomy(LDN)have also improved the live donor kidney donation rates.This increase has led to an interest in the surgical procedures used for LDN.AIM To evaluate the LDN techniques performed in Turkey,the structure of surgical teams,and the training received.Additionally,the number of kidney transplantations at different centers,the surgeon experience level,differences in surgical approach during donor surgeries,and outcomes were assessed.METHODS A questionnaire was sent to the Turkish Ministry of Health-accredited transplant centers.It inquired of the number of LDN surgeries,surgical techniques,complications,optimization protocols,the experience of surgeons,and the training.Descriptive statistics were outlined as follows:Discrete numeric variables were expressed as medians(minimum-maximum),while categorical variables were shown as numbers and percentages.As a result of the goodness-of-fit tests,if the significance of the differences between the groups in discrete numerical variables for which the parametric test statistical assumptions were not met,data were analyzed with the Mann Whitney U test and theχ^(2)test.RESULTS The questionnaire was sent to 72 transplant centers,all of which replied.Five centers that reported not performing LDN procedures were excluded.Responses from the remaining 67 centers were analyzed.In 2019,the median number of kidney transplants performed was 45,and the median number of kidney transplants from living donors was 28(1-238).Eleven(16.5%)centers performed 5-10,while 34(50.7%)centers performed more than 100 live donor kidney transplants in 2019.While 19(28.4%)centers performed the LDN procedures using the open technique,48(71.6%)centers implemented minimally invasive techniques.Among the centers preferring minimally invasive techniques for LDN,eight(16.6%)used more than one surgical technique.The most and the least common surgical techniques were transperitoneal laparoscopic(43 centers,89.6%)and single port laparoscopic LDN(1 center,2.1%)techniques,respectively.A positive association was found between the performance of minimally invasive techniques and the case volume of a transplant center,both in the total number and live donor kidney transplants(15 vs 55,P=0.001 and 9 vs 42,P≤0001 respectively).The most frequently reported complication was postoperative atelectasis(n=33,49.2%).There was no difference between the techniques concerning complications except for the chyle leak.CONCLUSION Turkish transplant centers performed LDN surgeries successfully through various techniques.Centers implementing minimally invasive techniques had a relatively higher number of live donor kidney transplants in 2019.