A protocol for rat kidney normothermic machine perfusion and subsequent transplantation.

End-stage renal disease is a major global health burden. The only definitive treatment existing is renal transplantation. Worldwide, the demand for donated kidneys by far exceeds the supply. A novel technique for organ preservation, normothermic machine perfusion (NMP), now promises to increase the potential pool of available organs by extending the spectrum of donors and reducing the incidence of graft failure. First studies in humans and large animals are being performed with promising results, but refinement of the technique, buffer, and machines involved is labor-intensive and expensive. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a small animal model of NMP and subsequent transplantation.