Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Recently, non-heart-beating donor has become the most potential source of transplant donors. At present, the research reports on safe duration limits of tolerance to warm ischemia of kidney grafts differ significantly, much less reach the theoretical perspective of safe duration limits.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the establishment of kidney transplantation model of non-heart-beating donors in rats and to explore the safe duration limits of tolerance to warm ischemia of the donor.
METHODS: Rat medulla oblongata was broken to establish the kidney transplantation model of non-heart-beating donors in rats. The rats were divided into four groups according to the warm ischemia time (0, 10, 30 and 60 minutes). Changes of histopathology and malondialdehyde content in kidney off-body with different warm ischemia time were observed. 
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Under light-microscopy, renal pathological changes were reversible within 30 minutes of warm ischemia. Along with the extension of warm ischemia time, pathological changes developed towards irreversible direction. The malondialdehyde contents in the groups of 10, 30 and 60 minutes warm ischemia were increased than that in the group without warm ischemia (P < 0.05). The malondialdehyde contents in the groups of 30 and 60 minutes warm ischemia were significantly increased than that in the 10 minutes warm ischemia group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in malondialdehyde content between the groups of 30 and 60 minutes warm ischemia (P > 0.05). These findings indicate that the kidney transplantation model of non-heart-beating donors was established successfully by breaking the medulla oblongata. On that basis, the safe duration limits of tolerance to warm ischemia of kidney grafts from non-heart-beating donor is determined as 30 minutes according to the pathological results and malondialdehyde content changes in donor kidneys.