Graft survival and blood transfusion.

The outcome of primary kidney transplantation in 244 patients was studied with reference to pre-transplant blood transfusions. Fifty-eight patients received kidneys from living related donors with one shared HLA-haplotype, 186 patients received kidneys from cadaveric donors. Graft survival was found to be significantly poorer in non-transfused patients, especially in patients receiving kidneys from living related donors. The degree of uraemic intoxication did not seem to influence the outcome.