Wida Cherikh, Ph.D., coauthored a peer-reviewed article led by Christopher Bryan, Ph.D., on kidney transplants from deceased donors with subtypes of blood type A into recipients with blood type B. Cherikh is UNOS’ Assistant Director of Business Development and Senior Research Scientist.
The article, published in the January 2016 edition of the American Journal of Transplantation, details the history and benefit of this protocol, as well as clinical considerations and recommendations for future applications.
Many donors are not compatible with candidates who have blood type B. As a result, type B candidates, most of whom are ethnic minorities, traditionally have been transplanted at a lower rate than candidates of any other blood group. However, A2 and A2B donors (A, non-A1 and AB, non-A1B)) are compatible with B candidates with low anti-A antibodies, thus providing these candidates additional transplant opportunities.
The authors reviewed the long-term experience of Midwest Transplant Network (MTN) and its affiliated transplant centers in performing A2/A2B kidney transplants for type B recipients. MTN was able to demonstrate that this form of matching increased transplant opportunities for type B recipients with no significant difference in outcome from type B recipients of type B donor kidneys. These findings helped support a change to national kidney allocation policy in 2014 to promote A2/A2B matches for compatible type B candidates.
Since the national policy was enacted, the number of such transplants has increased substantially; however, the opportunity exists for more eligible type B candidates to be listed for potential A2/A2B donor offers. The authors also noted additional opportunities to expand the benefit of A2/A2B matching, such as simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplantation and pediatric kidney transplantation.
To view the entire article, consult the following citation:
C.F. Bryan, W.S. Cherikh, and D.A. Sesok-Pizzini. A2/A2B to B Renal Transplantation: Past, Present, and Future Directions. American Journal of Transplantation: Volume 16, No. 1, pages 11-20.
