Prolonged time from cross clamp until normothermic machine perfusion start is associated with increased risk of early allograft dysfunction following DCD liver transplant.

Abstract

There is a paucity of data on the impact of cold ischemia time prior to the initiation of normothermic machine perfusion (NMP), particularly in more susceptible organs such livers from DCD donors. The present analysis aimed to investigate the impact of prolonged time from cross clamp until NMP start on early allograft dysfunction (EAD) and other peri-liver transplant (LT) outcomes. All DCD LT performed and placed on NMP at Mayo Clinic Arizona, Florida and Rochester from January 2022-March 2024 were included. The decision was made a priori to divide the population into 2 groups based on terciles: Typical Cross-clamp to On-pump time (lower 2 terciles) versus Prolonged Cross-clamp to On-pump Time (upper tercile; >2h 45.6min). 384 DCD LT undergoing NMP met the inclusion criteria. The rate of EAD was significantly higher in the Prolonged Cross-clamp to On-pump group (51.2%) compared to the Typical Cross-clamp to On-pump group (37.6%) (P=0.01). The Prolonged Cross-clamp to On-pump group also had higher rates of AKI and number of pRBCs transfused during LT. No significant difference in IC (2.0% vs. 1.5%;P=0.77) or graft survival at 12 months was seen between the Prolonged Cross-clamp to On-pump and Typical Cross-clamp to On-pump group, respectively. Following cross clamp, DCD liver grafts should be placed on the NMP pump as quickly as is safely and logistically possible. In cases where delays are unavoidable such as waiting for biopsy results or liver reallocation with another center, acceptable results can still be achieved and therefore livers with prolonged times should still be utilized.