Effect of blood viscosity on the function of isolated perfused porcine kidney after cold preservation

: With the new method of gas exchange and dialysis carried out simultaneously with a standard dialysis module, for the first time normothermic ex-vivo whole blood perfusion of pig kidneys becomes practicable under nearly physiological conditions. To show the possibility of animal experiment replacements we use slaughter house kidneys to investigate functional abilities of the perfusion method. Slaughter house kidneys show a state of acute ischemic renal failure due to the unavoidable time of ischemia and cold preservation. Nevertheless they show a specific functional metabolism up to 4 hours of perfusion time. For the future, the new perfusion model seems suitable to investigate acute organ rejection and perfusion phenomena on pig kidneys, which are most interesting for xenotransplantation.