Prognostic significance of hepatitis B antigenemia in kidney transplantation.

Serial hepatitis B antigen (HBAg) serum screenings were performed in 98 cadaver kidney transplant recipients: 51 were persistently found HBAg-negative while 47 became HBAg-positive, the majority of them acquiring HBAg postoperatively. In 28 patients, HB antigenemia persisted over 6 months postoperatively. 1- and 2-year graft survival rates were significantly greater in HBAg-positive than in HBAg-negative recipients. This finding suggests that HBAg tolerance is due to the ill-defined processes which determine kidney graft tolerance.