Belgian experience of DCD kidney transplantation

Background: Donation after cardiac death (DCD) was (re)introduced in Belgium in 2000 to expand the pool of kidney grafts. We reviewed the Belgian experience of DCD kidney transplantation (KTx) and compared short and long term graft and patient survival between machine perfusion (MP) and cold storage (CS) preservation. Methods: We reviewed all DCD KTx performed in Belgium between 01/2000 and 12/2009. Donor and recipient data were collected from Eurotransplant and all 6 Belgian KTx centers. Results: During the study period, 287 DCD KTx were performed (13% of all deceased KTx). Median follow up w... Mehr ...