Renal Transplantation from Donation After Circulatory Death Donors: Evolution of Strategies

Donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors are admitted in the intensive care units, who either do not fulfil the brain-stem death criteria or in whom the withdrawal of treatment is planned because of futility of further treatment. The initial renal function and log-term outcomes of DCD renal transplantation (RT) have been a subject of concern in the transplant community because of associated deleterious effects of existing co-morbidities in the donor, elderly age and prolonged warm and cold ischaemia times. However, based on the enhanced understanding of the pathophysiology of DCD and experience gained over the past two decades, DCD RT has become a routine and proven a useful source of organs for transplantation. The editorial summarises the evolution of the strategies adopted to improve the outcomes of DCD RT worldwide over the past two decades