Donation after circulatory death is associated with increased fibrosis on 1-year post-transplant kidney allograft surveillance biopsy

Aim The use of kidneys donated after circulatory death (DCD) provides an invaluable expansion of the organ supply for transplantation. Here, we investigated the effect of DCD on fibrotic changes on 1 1-year post 1-transplant surveillance kidney allograft biopsy. Methods Recipients of a deceased donor kidney transplant between 2013 and 2017 at a single institution, who survived 1 year and underwent surveillance biopsy, were included in the analysis (n = 333: 87 DCD kidneys, 246 kidneys donated after brain death [DBD]). Banff scores for interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy were summed as IFTA and compared between the groups. Results DCD and DBD groups were comparable for baseline characteristics. Delayed graft function was 39% in DCD versus 19% in DBD, P = .0002. Patient and graft survival were comparable for DCD and DBD cohorts. IFTA scores were higher in DCD compared to DBD (2.43 +/-..13 vs. 2.01 +/-..08, P = .0054). On multivariate analysis, the odds of IFTA > 2 in the DCD group was 2.5x higher (95%CI: 1.354.63) than in the DBD group. Within the DCD group, kidneys with IFTA > 2 had inferior 5-year graft survival (P = .037). Conclusion Compared to DBD kidneys, DCD kidneys developed a greater degree of fibrotic changes on 1-year post-transplant surveillance biopsy, which affected graft longevity within the DCD cohort.