Longterm allograft outcome in patients treated with prophylactic antilymphocyte globulin or OKT3 as induction therapy in cadaveric kidney transplantation

Short-term results after kidney transplantation have dramatically improved over the last decade. The introduction of new drugs such as cyclosporin (CsA) has decreased the incidence of acute rejection episodes and, consequently, the proportion of grafts lost during the first year after transplantation [1]. However, longterm results have not reflected the same progress since, in most registries, the yearly rate of grafts lost beyond the first year has remained unchanged [2].