Criteria for donation have been expanded to meet the great demand for organ transplant, resulting in different tools and classifications to help physicians to better assess the quality of the transplanted kidney. In this study, we evaluated the use of indocyanine green angiography as an additional tool to evaluate the renal microcirculation and the quality of the potential kidney graft.
Results: In transplanted kidneys preserved in traditional cold storage, we found a statistically significant difference in fluorescence intensity values between groups with early graft function and delayed graft function. Fluorescence intensity increased significantly in all perfused kidneys after hypothermic machine perfusion treatment, indicating that intensity was directly proportional to improved renal microcirculation. Among 21 kidneys retrieved for transplant that adhered to the inclusion criteria, 11 were examined histopathologically, with a Karpinski score ranging from 2 to 7. The kidney that scored 7 was immediately discarded. Five underwent hypothermic pulsatile perfusion since they came from donors after cardiac death. Fluorescence intensity increased significantly in all perfused kidneys (4/5 were closest to doubling). Histopathological evaluations and Karpinski scores of the grafts indicated that all 5 were considered suitable for transplant.
Conclusions: Indocyanine green angiography can be used in the future as an additional useful tool to help physicians to assess graft quality before implantation.
