Multiorgan transplantation

Kidney transplantation has proven to be the gold standard therapy for severe chronic kidney disease (CKD) due to multiple etiologies in individuals deemed eligible from a surgical standpoint. While kidney transplantation is traditionally considered in conditions of native kidney disease such as diabetes and immunological or inherited causes of kidney disease, an increasing indication for kidney transplantation is kidney dysfunction in the setting of other severe organ dysfunction that requires transplant, such as severe liver or heart disease. In these settings, multiorgan transplantation is now commonly performed, with controversy regarding the appropriate utilization of kidneys transplanted both from a physiological perspective (distinguishing those who require a kidney transplant) and also from an ethical perspective (allocation of a scarce resource to a more morbid population). These issues persist in the setting of simultaneous pancreas–kidney transplant (SPK), in which utilization for patients with type 1 diabetes has been historically accepted. Questions of physiological benefit persist, and utilization is waning despite broader allocation policies that encourage SPK, including consideration for patients with type 2 diabetes. The purpose of this review will be to summarize the physiological data regarding multiorgan transplantation and place these into context while reviewing current allocation policy in the United States.