The influence of hepatitis B infection on the outcome of renal allotransplantation.

Renal allograft and patient survival and liver function abnormalities were studied in a group of HBsAg-negative and -positive recipients. Thirty-five patients were positive, and 20 patients became antigenemic prior to transplantation. Two hundred twenty-four patients were HBsAg-negative. No difference in patient or graft survival was found between patients with hepatitis B antigenemia and antigen-negative cadaver allograft recipients. The incidence of significant hepatic disease was low in comparison with several recently published reports. It is concluded that hepatitis B antigenemia is not an absolute contraindication to transplantation.