The Asystolic Donor Syndrome

Abstract

THE GROWING shortage of donor organs continues to be an important limiting factor in renal transplanta- tion, and there has been renewed interest in non–heart beating (NHB) donors. In 1996 Andrews et al first reported an asystolic donor syndrome, characterized by increased levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and thrombocy- topenia in recipients of kidney from NHB donors. 1 In their analysis they proposed that this syndrome may be of important predictive value regarding the prognosis of grafts with delayed primary function. We are reporting two cases of asystolic donor syndrome that showed a good short-term graft function.