Diabetes Insipidus in Deceased Donors and Outcomes in Kidney Transplant Recipients

Transplant providers fielding kidney offers often encounter deceased donors with diabetes insipidus (DI), which is present in 49%-60% of donors after brain death (DBD).1 Because the standard management of DI includes vasopressin and fluid resuscitation to prevent kidney injury,2 the fluid shifts and volme overload reliably apparent in the tissues during procurement could result in an artificial dilution of the donor’s terminal serum creatinine. This would improve the kidney donor profile index (KDPI), which includes terminal creatinine in the formula.