Factors influencing outcome of kidney allografts from pretreated cadaveric donors.

A five-year retrospective analysis of patient and graft survival after initial cadaveric kidney transplantation showed that recipients of kidneys from cadaveric donors pretreated with cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) and methylprednisolone (Medrol) had better graft survival than those patients who received nonpretreated kidneys. In patients not receiving transfusions, transplantation of a pretreated kidney improved the chances of success, with graft survival equivalent to that for patients receiving transfusions. Splenectomy was beneficial for graft survival and did not affect overall patient survival. The effect of splenectomy could not be clearly separated fro the effect of donor pretreatment.