Single Center Experience of Femoral Surgical Cannulation for Kidney Procurement and Transplantation From Controlled Donation After Circulatory Death

INTRODUCTION: Procurements from controlled donation after circulatory death donors (cDCD donors) are increasing in France, with systematic abdominal normothermic regional perfusion (A-NRP). However, some procedures are aborted due to technical difficulties to cannulate, which could be avoided by exclusive surgical femoral cannulation. The objective of this study was to describe the results of organ procurement and kidney transplantation following withdrawal of life sustaining therapy (WLST) with exclusive femoral surgical cannulation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of all the kidney procurement procedures from cDCD donors with femoral cannulation performed by our surgical team and the subsequent kidney transplantations performed in our center. RESULTS: We performed 60 procurements from cDCD donors and 52 subsequent kidney transplantations. Thirty-six (60%) WLST took place in the intensive care unit (ICU) and 24 (40%) were performed in the operating room (OR). Arterial and venous femoral surgical cannulation was successfully achieved within the authorized timeframe in 100% of cases with a median time of 15 min (Q1-Q3: 12-18). CONCLUSION: This single-center experience highlights the feasibility of exclusive surgical femoral cannulation for NRP initiation, with high technical success and favorable ischemia times.