Clinical Utility of Lymphocyte Cross-Matching after Renal Transplantation

Authors: Olcay YEĞİN, Gültekin SÜLEYMANLAR, Nezih OYGÜR, Mesut COŞKUN, Ayşe SAVAŞ, Nilgün KEÇECİOĞLU, Tuncer KARPUZOĞLU

Abstract: One of the most important obstacles in renal transplantation is the rejection phenomenon. In spite of the developments in medical technology and immunology, early diagnosis of rejection and specific immunosuppression of the immune attack against the graft have not yet been totally accomplished. Lymphocyte cross-matching (LCM), a test to detect the presence of preformed antibodies in the donor against the recipient, is a practical and cheap method and is performed at almost all renal transplantation centers before transplantation. In this study, we searched for the relation between the posttransplant LCM status and graft survival. LCM was positive in 7 patients and 5 lost their grafts. On the other hand, of 88 patients, whose LCM remained negative, only 8 lost their grafts (p<0.05). In conclusion LCM is a practical and cheap method for detecting the presence of antidonor antibodies which closely relate with graft rejection.

Keywords: Lymphocyte Cross-match (LCM), Renal transplantation Graft survival, DTT, Rejection

Full Text: PDF