Influence of blood transfusions on kidney transplant and uremic patient survival.

The influence of blood transfusions on kidney graft survival in 167 first cadaveric transplants and 85 first living related transplants is presented. Blood transfusions had no effect upon kidney graft survival in the patients transplanted with kidneys from living related donors. A significantly better graft survival was observed in the transfused group of patients transplanted with cadaveric kidneys. This beneficial effect was most pronounced in men. When patient survival was analyzed, however, a possible beneficial effect of blood transfusions was almost nulled out when patients dying while waiting for a transplant were included. The majority of these latter patients had been transfused and many had formed HLA antibodies.