SEROTYPING FOR HOMOTRANSPLANTATION .24. HEART TRANSPLANTATION

Forty-eight heart transplant recipients and their donors were typed for 12 HL-A antigens. Of the patients receiving grafts from donors with two antigenic groups of incompatibilities, 16 of 21 have died. Among those with transplants having one HL-A group of incompatibility, 11 of 19 have died. Four of the 7 patients with compatible grafts have died. The difference between those with two antigenic groups of mismatch and those with one or no mismatch was of marginal statistical significance (p 0.06). Survival curves were also correlated with compatibility for HL-A antigens, although the small numbers have restricted the analysis. Preformed antibodies were found in only 7 (4.3 per cent) of 161 prospective heart transplant recipients. Thus, in contrast to kidney transplantation, immediate failures associated with preformed antibodies can be expected to be less frequent in heart transplantation. © 1969.