Importance of preoperative (not peroperative) transfusions for cadaver kidney transplants.

The outcome of 684 cadaver kidney transplants in recipients who had never been transfused was compared to that in 371 recipients who had been transfused only preoperatively. No significant difference in graft survival was observed. Peroperative transfusions were ineffective regardless of their number or the type of blood product. These results contradict a recent report on the benefits of peroperative transfusions. Transfusions given before transplantation continued to show a striking graft improvement effect in a new series of 538 transplants performed in 1979.