Dopamine primes kidneys for a new host

Dopamine primes kidneys for a new host
Transplant patients may fare better if brain-dead organ donors receive an infusion of the compound before surgeryBy Nathan Seppa Web edition : Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 Text Size Giving dopamine infusions to brain-dead organ donors while they still have a heartbeat seems to fortify their kidneys against the rigors of transplant, a new study shows. Patients receiving a kidney from such donors are less likely to require multiple sessions of blood-cleansing dialysis immediately after the transplant operation, researchers report in the Sept. 9 Journal of the American Medical Association.

What’s more, treating a donor with dopamine seems to prevent some of the damage to kidneys that happens while the organs wait to be transplanted, the scientists find.