New choices for patients needing kidney transplantation across antibody barriers

J Ren Care. 2008 Jun;34(2):85-93. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-6686.2008.00025.x.

Abstract

Antibodies in the blood of a kidney transplant recipient can provide a barrier to transplantation, which is additional to the usual possibility of cellular rejection. The antibodies most frequently encountered are ABO (blood group) and human leucocyte antigen (HLA) (tissue-type) antibodies. About 250 living donor transplants each year in the United Kingdom have been stopped because of an antibody barrier. It is now possible to offer a choice of treatment modalities to these people, including exchange transplantation and antibody-incompatible transplantation. It is likely that both schemes will complement each other and both are available in the United Kingdom.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • ABO Blood-Group System / immunology
  • Blood Group Incompatibility / diagnosis
  • Blood Group Incompatibility / immunology
  • Blood Group Incompatibility / prevention & control*
  • Choice Behavior
  • Clinical Protocols
  • Donor Selection / organization & administration
  • Graft Rejection / immunology
  • Graft Rejection / prevention & control
  • Graft Survival
  • HLA Antigens / immunology
  • Health Services Accessibility
  • Health Services Needs and Demand
  • Histocompatibility Testing
  • Humans
  • Kidney Transplantation* / methods
  • Kidney Transplantation* / mortality
  • Kidney Transplantation* / statistics & numerical data
  • Living Donors / statistics & numerical data
  • Patient Selection
  • Plasmapheresis
  • Risk Factors
  • Tissue and Organ Procurement / organization & administration*
  • Treatment Outcome
  • United Kingdom / epidemiology

Substances

  • ABO Blood-Group System
  • HLA Antigens