Lymphocyte-dependent antibody cross-matching for transplant patients.

Cadaver donor transplant patients who had a negative complement-dependent cytotoxicity cross-match test were tested in parallel with the specific donor at the time of transplantation by the lymphocyte-dependent antibody (L.D.A.) test. Transplants were performed on the basis of negative standard and long (2-5-hour) ment-dependent cross-match tests and the results of the L.D.A. test were withheld from the transplant centres. Of the 57 transplants tested, 49 had a negative L.D.A. result with 74 percent one-month function whereas 8 had a positive L.D.A. Result with 25 percent one-month function (P smaller than 0-02). When the results were further divided into methods of preservation of donor kidneys, among L.D.A.-Negative transplants, of the 20 kidneys preserved by Collins Sacks solution, 95 percent were functional at one month, whereas of the 28 kidneys preserved on the Belzer machine, 64 percent were functional at one month (P smaller than 0-05). The risk of the most hazardous period of transplantation (i. e., the first month) may be reduced drastically by simple preservation methods and the se of L.D.A. cross-matching.