Prospective evaluation of pretransplant blood transfusions in cadaver kidney recipients

Background. A beneficial effect of pretransplant transfusions on graft survival was demonstrated in the early 1970s. In the mid-1980s, however, retrospective studies showed that transfusions had lost their graft-protective effect in the cyclosporine era. During the last 10 years, deliberate transfusion pretreatment of transplant patients has been discontinued. Methods. Within a collaborative project of 14 transplant centers, prospective recipients of cadaver kidney grafts were randomized to receive either three pretransplant transfusions or transplants without transfusions. Results. The graft survival rate was significantly higher in the 205 transfusion recipients than in the 218 patients who did not receive transfusions (at 1 year: 90+/-2% vs. 82+/-3%, P=0.020; at 5 years: 79+/-3% vs. 70+/-4%, P=0.025). Cox regression analysis showed that this effect was independent of age, gender, underlying disease, prophylaxis with antilymphocyte antibodies, and preformed lymphocytotoxins. Conclusions. Transfusion pretreatment improves the outcome of cadaver kidney transplants even with the use of modern immunosuppressive regimens.