Association between Primary Graft Dysfunction among Lung, Kidney and Heart Recipients from the Same Multiorgan Donor

Even organs from an ideal donor will occasionally develop primary graft dysfunction (PGD) causing a significant morbidity and mortality after transplantation. It is likely that this situation represents subtle undetectable levels of ongoing donor organ dysfunction. The aim of this study is to investigate the association of PGD between lung, kidney and heart recipients from the one donor. From 202 multiorgan donors, contributed 231 consecutive lung transplants at the Alfred Hospital, 378 kidney and 114 heart transplants were subsequently performed at multiple centers across Australia and New Zealand. Eight hundred seventy‐five organs were used for 723 transplants. The incidence of PGD after lung, kidney and heart transplants was 20% (47/231), 24% (92/378) and 20% (23/114), respectively. In paired single organ recipients, PGD in one of the pair was a significant risk factor for the development of PGD in the other [lung: odds ratio = 5.63 (1.72–18.43), p = 0.004; kidney: odds ratio = 3.19 (1.90–5.35), p < 0.0001]. In multivariate analysis, same donor heart PGD [3.37 (1.19–9.50), p = 0.02] was an independent risk factor for lung PGD and same donor lung PGD was significant risk factor for kidney PGD [1.94 (1.01–3.73), p = 0.04], if the PGD status of the paired kidney was not known. There was a significant association for the development of PGD across different organs transplanted from the same donor. In 202 multi‐organ donors, there was an association between early graft dysfunction in 231 pulmonary, 378 renal and 114 cardiac transplant recipients, suggesting potent unknown donor factors exert an important affect on transplant outcomes.