Deceased Donor Biomarkers and Recipient Outcomes

Compared to chronic dialysis, kidney transplantation provides recipients with longer survival and better quality of life at a lower cost. In order to meet increasing demands for kidney allografts, kidneys from older and sicker donors are being procured. This has led to greater discard rates of donated kidneys as well as more complications for recipients, including shorter allograft survival. Available clinical models to predict kidney allograft quality have poor prognostic ability and do not asses the degree of kidney allograft injury. However, allograft injury near the time of procurement can lead to major consequences for the transplant recipient: greater risks of delayed graft function, poor allograft function and premature loss of the transplant. Our proposal is based on the hypotheses that novel biomarkers measured in donor urine and transport media at the time of procurement can assess acute and chronic kidney injury and that distinct biomarker patterns will predict allograft survival. In collaboration with five organ procurement organizations, we will collect urine samples from consecutive deceased donors and samples of transport solution for every pumped kidney. We will measure markers of injury, repair, inflammation and fibrosis. We will determine mortality and allograft survival in all patients by linkage to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database (Overall Cohort). Additionally, we will perform a detailed chart review of a subset of recipients (detailed cohort) and will also examine associations between biomarkers and longitudinal graft function over five years after transplant. Early, non-invasive and rapid assessment of donor kidney injury could drive better allocation decisions and potentially reduce the rates of post-transplant complications. Further, these new tools could provide a platform for clinical trials of therapies for allografts and kidney transplant recipients aimed at ameliorating allograft injury.