Canadian Forum on Combined Organ Transplantation

The Canadian Society of Transplantation and Canadian Blood Services conducted a consensus forum on combined renal/nonrenal transplants, as they are not part of Canadian organ-specific allocation models at present. The purpose of this initiative was to make recommendations, develop eligibility criteria, and a decision-making model on listing and allocation. Forty-two participants with expertise in combined transplantation participated in the consensus forum. The United States and Canadian data were reviewed. The consensus forum made recommendations regarding the following: (1) investigation of etiology, severity, duration, and level of renal dysfunction; (2) documentation of degree of nonreversible kidney injury; (3) eligibility for combined (either simultaneous or staged) transplantation; (4) research. Key recommendations were: (1) patients with end-stage nonrenal disease with estimated glomerular filtration rate less than 30 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) for longer than 1 month or on dialysis less than 3 months, who fulfill criteria for nonreversibility of renal dysfunction (by level and duration of renal dysfunction, imaging, and pathology findings), would be eligible for combined renal/nonrenal transplantation; (2) patients on dialysis longer than 3 months would be eligible for combined renal/nonrenal transplantation; (3) staged renal after nonrenal transplantation with subsequent prioritized allocation of renal transplant was endorsed in selected cases. The validation and impact of these recommendations on allocation will require further studies.