Donor hypertension increases graft immunogenicity and intensifies chronic changes in long-surviving renal allografts.

Background: Marginal donor organs are used increasingly for transplantation. To define the influences of donor hypertension, we compared the behavior of kidney allografts from hypertensive and normotensive donors in an established rat model of chronic rejection.

Methods: Donor hypertension was induced by partial occlusion of the right renal artery with a silver clip.

Early and late injury to renal transplants from non-heart-beating donors.

Background: The lack of adequate numbers of kidneys for transplantation has stimulated interest in the use of organs from non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs). The short- and long-term effects of this risk factor on kidney isografts and allografts were examined with a rat model.

Methods: NHBDs were killed by ether overdose.