Transplantations using grafts from living donors

Transplantations using grafts from living donors were performed on 70 patie nts with chronic kidney failure, 66 of them involved matching recipients-do nors and four involved non-matching recipients-donors. Immunological data w ere analyzed in 56 pairs of recipients and patients. Of these pairs, one wa s identical, seven had three identical antigens, 46 were haploidentical at A and B loci, one pair was identical in one antigen and one pair was comple tely incompatible. The survival of transplanted kidneys largely depended on the degree of histocompatibility. In 33 (59%) transplantations kidneys are functioning from more than 36 months. In the group of seven transplanted p airs with three identical antigens kidneys are functioning in six cases, wi th four of them functioning.from more than 72 months. In the remaining pati ents (41 patients [73%]) kidneys are functioning, with 8 of them functionin g from more than 10 years. The existence of HLA antibodies was investigated , Preimmunization was found in 18 (32%) patients and correlated with the nu mber of blood transfusions. Rejection crises were observed in 12 (21%) pati ents. As the number of blood transfusions per patient increased the number of rejection crises decreased. Rejection crises were also observed in haplo identical pairs, with a relative risk > 30%. They occurred in the first 2 w eeks following transplantation. (C) 2000 Editions scientifiques et medicale s Elsevier SAS.