Predictors of Graft function in Renal Transplantation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing the Role of Procurement Biopsy and Clinical Factors in Predicting Outcomes after Renal Transplantation
IRAS ID
261614
Contact name
Stephen Kelleher
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Given the shortage of donor kidneys worldwide, medical teams are increasingly turning to organs that previously were not considered ideal for transplantation, specifically from older donors. The decision to transplant these kidneys is based on clinical factors and biopsy information taken at the time of organ donation. Organs identified as being of borderline quality are either discarded or both kidneys from one donor are transplanted into one patient (as opposed to two different patients).
Considerable debate remains around the role of biopsy in predicting the function of the donated kidney. Suggested factors for apparent variation include: lack of agreed scoring criteria, variations in assessment (poor concordance between pathologists), and existing scoring systems not adequately capturing or weighting relevant features on biopsy.
A number of computational methods have been developed to facilitate automated analysis of slide images with the aim of providing accurate, bias and variation free assessment of tissue. We aim to apply these methods to assess differences in historical kidney biopsies and identify factors associated with better transplant function. We will then compare this with existing methods of kidney biopsy assessment to assess if our method may have provided superior discriminatory and predictive ability.We aim to scan tissue slides of all previous donors who underwent kidney biopsy, in Addenbrookes Hospital over the past 6 years, and use these images to train a computer programme to classify the quality of an organ. In order define whether a transplanted kidney was good or bad, we will need to link information about the organ, donor and recipient through the NHS Organ Donation and Transplantation database, QUOD (Quality in Organ Donation, a research database) as well as local electronic health record to ensure we accurately record kidney function of the transplant and any complications that may have occurred.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/SC/0318
Date of REC Opinion
25 Jun 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion