Introduction: ABO compatibility has been believed to be necessary in kidney transplantation (Ktx) to prevent acute antibody-mediated rejection. However, developments in immunosuppression and immunoadsorption techniques have overcome acute antibody-mediated rejection caused by ABO incompatibility. Herein, we have presented the first ABO-incompatible Ktx cases in Turkey. All recipients did not have an ABO-compatible donor but presented significant dialysis inadequacy due to vascular access problems.
Method: Five dialysis patients with blood groups O or B underwent kidney transplantation from living related donors of blood group type A1 or AB between march 23, 2007 and August 16, 2007. All patients received Rituximab (375 mg/m(2)) at 3-4 weeks before the Ktx. Additionally, we started tacrolimus (0.15 mg/kg), mycophenolate mofetil (2 × 1 g), and simvastatin (1 × 20 mg) 1 week before the operation. Immunoadsorption therapy employing a specific filter (Glycosorbs) to remove anti-A or anti-B antibodies was continued until the titers were <1/4. After the Ktx, we again performed immunoadsorption if the anti-A or the anti-B antibody titer was >1/8 during the first postoperative week and >1/16 at the second postoperative week. We used 2 standard hemodialysis machines with a connection line to perform immunoabsorption and dialysis during the same session.
Results: Acute humoral and cellular rejection was not detected. During the follow-up 1 patient was lost due to a cardiovascular complication. Mean creatinine level was 1.1 ± 0.3 mg/dL. These first ABO-incompatible transplantation cases in Turkey suggest that this source may represent an effective approach to overcome the organ shortage.
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