Comments on "Impact of spontaneous donor hypothermia on graft outcomes after kidney transplantation".

Using a retrospective cohort that was part of a donor intervention trial published in 2009 (1) , Schnuelle et al report in this issue that spontaneous hypothermia in deceased organ donors resulted in decreased recipient renal delayed graft function(2) . Allograft survival was not statistically significantly different during long-term follow up. While spontaneous hypothermia is likely a distinct physiologic process compared to targeted mild hypothermia, as in our previously reported randomized controlled trial(3) , the findings of the current retrospective study further confirm our impression that therapeutic mild hypothermia and deceased organ donor intervention research, in general, hold tremendous potential for addressing the ongoing shortage of organs available for transplantation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.