COPE COMPARE study published in the Lancet

We are pleased to announce that the Consortium for Organ Preservation in Europe (COPE) COMPARE study has been published in the Lancet today. The Centre for Evidence in Transplantation provided support in the design, conduct and reporting for the study as leaders of the methodological work package for the consortium.

The COMPARE study is a multicentre European pared-design randomised controlled trial comparing oxygenated versus non-oxygenated hypothermic machine preservation in DCD kidneys. 106 pairs of kidneys were randomised and transplanted. Whilst the primary endpoint (a difference in eGFR at 12 months post-transplant) was not met, there was a significant reduction in graft failure in the oxygenated arm which led to improved function overall when failed grafts were imputed with a GFR of 15 ml/min in a pre-specified sensitivity analysis.

Analysis of secondary outcomes also demonstrated significantly fewer serious complications in the oxygenated arm, and in particular a significant reduction in the incidence of acute rejection with oxygenation.

These findings suggest that oxygenation during hypothermic machine preservation of elderly DCD kidneys (>50 years) is beneficial. Given the simplicity and limited cost implication, this finding should be easy to translate into clinical practice.

To read the full article, visit the Lancet website.