Early Posttransplant Blood Transfusion and Risk for Worse Graft Outcomes

Blood transfusion is a risk factor for allosensitization. Nevertheless, blood transfusion posttransplant remains a common practice. We evaluated the effect of posttransplant blood transfusion on graft outcomes.

We included nonsensitized, first-time, kidney-alone recipients transplanted between 1 July 2015 and 31 December 2017. Patients were grouped based on receiving blood transfusion in the first 30 days posttransplant. The primary end point was a composite outcome of biopsy-proven acute rejection, death of any cause, or graft failure in the first year posttransplant. Secondary outcomes included the individual components of the primary outcome and the cumulative incidence of de novo donor-specific antibodies (DSAs).

Two hundred seventy-three patients were included. One hundred twenty-seven (47%) received blood transfusion. Patients in the transfusion group were more likely to be older, have had a deceased donor, and have received induction with basiliximab. There was no difference between groups in the composite primary outcome (adjusted hazard ratio = [HR] 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83-2.17; P = 0.23). The cumulative incidence of de novo DSAs during the first year posttransplant was similar between groups (12.8% transfusion vs. 10.9% no transfusion, P = 0.48).

Early transfusion of blood products in kidney transplant recipients receiving induction with lymphocyte depletion was not associated with an increased hazard of experiencing acute rejection, death from any cause, or graft loss.