LONG-TERM RESULTS OF ABO-INCOMPATIBLE LIVING KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION

Abstract

Patient survival was 93% at 1 year and 91% at 8 years. Graft survival was 79% at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years, 75% at 5 and 6 years, and 73% at 7 and 8 years. Patient survival was not significantly different from that of ABO-compatible patients. However, graft survival was significantly different between ABO-incompatible grafts and ABO-compatible grafts. Specifically, ABO-incompatible transplant recipients experienced a significantly higher rate of early graft loss up to 3 years but showed an equivalent graft loss by year 4. Among 67 patients, 16 grafts were lost during the observation period. Loss was due to acute rejection in 5 patients, followed by chronic rejection in 5 patients and death with function in 3 patients, whereas immunosuppression was withdrawn in 3 patients due to nonimmunological reasons. Of 16 grafts lost, 15 were lost within 1 year after transplantation. Of the 67 patients, 5 died during observation. Three patients with functioning grafts died of uncontrolled bleeding due to duodenal ulcer, malignant lymphoma, and cerebral hemorrhage (one patient each). One patient died of ischemic colitis due to secondary amyloidosis and one patient of cerebral hemorrhage after graft loss due to humoral rejection. There was no fatal infectious complication, whereas 10 patients had non-tissue-invasive cytomegalovirus infection. The stepwise logistic regression model was employed to identify the most important factors for long-term renal function. Patients were subdivided into those with serum creatinine of less than 2.0 mg/dl (group 1, n=39) versus those with serum creatinine of more than 2.0 mg/dl (group 2, n=22) at one year after renal transplantation. Six patients were excluded because of death with functioning graft (three patients) and withdrawal of immunosuppression (three patients). Rejection episodes within 6 months were significantly frequent in group 2 compared with group 1 (P=0.0008). Odds ratio was 112-fold in the rejection episodes. Obviously, the high incidence of early humoral rejection is caused by ABO incompatibility, because ABO-incompatible grafts experience a higher rate of early rejection and graft loss compa