Procurement for visceral organ transplantation

Abstract

Despite significant improvements in visceral organ transplantation over the last few decades, some technical aspects of organ harvesting remain controversial. The purpose of this article is to review and summarize the latest literature on how to perfuse in multiorgan procurement. Few prospective studies have analyzed and compared technical aspects of harvesting such as cannulation (aortic-only versus dual aortic and portal flush), flush rates and volumes as well as flush pressures (high pressure vs. gravity). However, these and most data available from additional retrospective and experimental studies do not clearly support one harvesting technique over another. Currently, because of lack of superiority data, no clear guidelines exist on what cannulation techniques to apply during organ procurements in visceral organ transplantation. Additional prospective trials are needed to clarify these questions.