Testing for donor-specific antibodies in renal transplantation: Indian perspective

Abstract

The evaluation of donor-specific antibodies by Luminex single-antigen bead assay (in addition to other crossmatch tests) to assess pretransplant immunological risk should be performed in recipients (especially with a history of prior sensitization) even in resource-constrained settings as this approach can help in better risk stratification, to decide on transplant eligibility, selection of immunologically favorable donor, to plan desensitization protocol and induction therapy that can lead to the reduction of posttransplant rejection rates and better graft survival. Despite the cost, it is justified to use these sensitive assays in selected cases even in a cost-limited setting as this enables earlier and better-matched transplant, and avoidance of morbidity and poor graft survival.