Inflammation in deceased kidney donors in the pre-organ retrieval period and the association with transplant outcomes: A Systematic Review.

Published Date: 03rd December 2025

Publication Authors: Tridente. A

Abstract

Systemic hyper-inflammation is an established cause of organ dysfunction, evidenced by the multi-organ failure observed in sepsis. Similarly, the process of death invokes a complex set of events leading to profound hyper-inflammation. It is reasonable to infer that in deceased organ donors, death-induced hyperinflammation could have significant consequences for organs being offered for transplant. This systematic review aimed to; 1) clarify what is currently known about the sources of inflammation following death, and 2) systematically review the current body of evidence reporting levels of inflammation in deceased donors and living donors and linking donor inflammation with kidney transplant outcome. The systematic review was conducted in agreement with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines 8. We searched the Medline, Web of Science, Scopus and CINHAL databases from January 2000 to March 2023 for articles relating donor inflammation with kidney transplant outcomes. The National Institute of Health 'Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies' was used to assess validity of studies. Twenty-one studies were analysed, collectively totalling 3397 donors and 4596 recipients. A high degree of heterogeneity in inflammatory markers and transplant outcomes studied existed between studies, yet collective evidence showed higher inflammation, complement activation, and tissue injury in deceased donors compared with living donors, and strongly suggested associations with poorer short- and long-term transplant outcomes.

Bullock, A.M.G.; Tridente, A.; Et al. (2025). Inflammation in deceased kidney donors in the pre-organ retrieval period and the association with transplant outcomes: A Systematic Review. Transplantation Reviews. 40(1), p.100980. [Online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trre.2025.100980 [Accessed 19 December 2025].