Detrimental effects of four hours of cold storage on porcine pancreaticoduodenal transplantation

Transplantation of the pancreaticoduodenal allograft (PDA) has recently been advocated as a technique that is superior to the use of the segmental allograft. However, the effect of simple cold storage preservation on the PDA has not been studied. We investigated the effect of 24 and 4 hours of cold storage in Eurocollins solution on porcine PDA function after transplantation in pancreatectomized pigs. A regimen of cyclosporine and prednisone was used, which prevented rejection for at least 28 days after transplantation. Cold storage preservation for 24 hours uniformly resulted in PDA failure. Compared with recipients of immediately transplanted PDA, recipients of PDA cold stored for 4 hours had marked plasma hyperamylasemia (10,000 U/L versus 1932 U/L), relative glucose intolerance (K value -2.15 versus -2.66), hypoinsulinemia (peak immunoreactive insulin 11.0 microU/ml versus 34.7 microU/ml), and an abnormal pattern of insulin secretion as demonstrated with intravenous glucose tolerance testing. There was also a higher incidence of technical complications in the group transplanted with cold-stored PDAs. Our results suggest that there is a detrimental effect on porcine PDA function after only 4 hours of cold storage in Eurocollins solution.