Glossary Term

CIT

Cold Ischemia Time

Cold Time

The time an organ is without blood circulation and is kept cold—from the time the organ is removed from the donor to the time it is transplanted into the recipient. In surgery, the time between the chilling of a tissue, organ, or body part after its blood supply has been reduced or cut off and the time it is warmed by having its blood supply restored. This can occur while the organ is still in the body or after it is removed from the body if the organ is to be used for transplantation.
(Organdonor.gov April 2020)

Cold ischemic time refers to the amount of time that an organ is chilled or cold and not receiving a blood supply. Cold ischemic time varies widely by organ, but in general, the sooner an organ can be transplanted, the better.
(Organ Toolbox Workgroup , 2018 & Community Hospital Resource Guide Workgroup, 2019)

The amount of time an organ spends being preserved after recovery from the donor prior to transplantation.
(Alliance Terminology & Data Resources May 2021)