Transplanting the transplanted…

Andree Gould, Mary Lynch, Nicola Fletcher, Sarah Kelley, Kylie Monk, Sarah Markham, Rebecca Reid, Marie Schaumann, Melissa Smith

¹DonateLife WA, DonateLife WA, Perth, Australia

Presented is a case of a successful donation of a previously transplanted kidney.

Mr X was a 60 year old male who unfortunately had a catastrophic intracranial haemorrhage which despite treatment resulted in progression to brain death. During conversations of prognosis and poor outcome his family raised the potential for organ donation. He had received a kidney transplant 7 years previously from a living relative for polycystic renal disease.

While it is accepted that a transplant recipient can be an organ donor the question arose – which organs could we consider for donation?

During investigation and consideration for organ donation it was determined that the gentleman’s heart was not medically suitable due to his cardiac history. His lungs were not medically suitable due to poor oxygenation and infection. His liver was not medically suitable due to the presence of multiple hepatic cysts and his pancreas was declined due to his complex medical history. The organ considered medically suitable for donation was his  previously transplanted kidney.

In this paper we outline the challenges to achieve a successful donation outcome in this case, including consent from the original living donor and tissue typing considerations.