Combined cardio-renal transplantation (CCRT) from the same donor: report of two cases and review of the literature

Two patients with successful combined cardio-renal transplantation (CCRT) using allografts from the same donor are reported. Both patients underwent staged procedure with hearts being transplanted first followed by kidneys. One patient suffered simultaneous acute rejection of both allografts, indeed a very rare event, which was successfully treated with pulse steroids. Because of the successful patient and graft outcomes, we propose that staged CCRT offers a reasonable therapeutic option for patients with co-existing, irreversible cardiorenal failure.