Introduction

The Machine Preservation Trial was the first international, randomised, controlled, multicenter trial to investigate the efficacy and cost effectiveness of continuous hypothermic machine perfusion versus static storage in deceased donor kidneys. On January 1, 2009, results of this first prospective landmark study demonstrating the merits of machine perfusion were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The trial compared outcome in pairs of cadaveric kidneys, one preserved by machine perfusion on the LifePort Kidney Transporter and the other by static storage. The trial was conducted in collaboration with Eurotransplant and the Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation. Beginning in November 2005, all deceased kidney donors of 16 years and older from Belgium, The Netherlands and the DSO Region North Rhine Westphalia, Germany were considered for enrollment in the trial. 338 pairs of kidneys were enrolled and outcomes monitored and reported at 3, 6 and 12 months.

Results demonstrated that the odds for experiencing a delay in recovery of kidney function are 43% lower in the kidneys that were machine perfused and that these kidneys are 48% less likely to fail within a year compared to those stored in the traditional box of ice.

This website contains the most important information concerning the Machine Preservation Trial. For any questions, feel free to contact the trial secretary.