Factors influencing the result of kidney transplantation with special reference to the HLA system in conventional immunosuppression

Among 331 recipients of cadaveric renal allografts, transplanted from 1976 to 1986 at the Rostock Transplant Center the graft survival rates have been analyzed. All patients have been treated by conventional immunosuppressive therapy using azathioprine and prednisolone. A relation between graft survival and immunological factors was found: the better the HLA match, the better the transplant results. The necessity of a restrictive transfusion regime was stressed. The higher the number of pretransplant transfusions, the higher is the panel reactivity with following lower graft survival. Cold ischemic time was without influence on graft survival. The introduction of cyclosporin may improve the graft survival rate as known of 10-20%.