Background: The main aim of this paper is to determine scope of changes in concentration of selected pro-inflammatory factors in blood serum in the initial period after the kidney transplantation from the brain death donor and attempt of establishing which of them are connected with delayed function of the organ, initial condition of both the donor and the recipient.
Material/Methods: The prospective examination carried out in group of 20 patients that underwent kidney transplantation from 10 donors diagnosed brain death. Blood samples were drawn before the transplantation procedure, 4 hours after procedure and in 4[sup]th[/sup] day after the procedure. The blood serum analysis included: interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta (IL-1b) and C-reactive protein (CRP).
Results: In perioperative period the dynamic changes of all observed markers were noticed, especially in 4 th hour after the transplantation procedure. Generally, apart from TNFα, their concentration in blood serum was raising (the most significantly for IL-6) and then in 4[sup]th[/sup] day reached the level equal to or lower than before transplantation.
Conclusions: The delayed graft function is accompanied by high CRP level in donors before grafting and sustaining rise of IL-1b content in blood serum in 4[sup]th[/sup] day after the transplantation procedure. The IL-6 content in this period revealed similar tendency in recipients' pairs that have been given the kidney from one donor, reflecting the condition of an organ that has been transplanted.

Keywords: Kidney, Transplantation, Delayed Graft Function, cytokine