Managing the highly sensitized kidney transplant patient

Highly sensitized kidney transplant candidates, particularly those with calculated panel reactive antibody (CPRA) ≥99.9%, face significant immunologic barriers to transplantation. This review highlights recent clinical strategies that have improved transplant access and outcomes in this population, with a focus on allocation policy, kidney-paired donation, and desensitization.

Updates from national allocation systems and kidney-paired donation programs have demonstrated substantial gains in transplant access for many highly sensitized candidates. However, those with CPRA at least 99.9% remain difficult to match. Novel desensitization approaches, such as imlifidase, proteasome inhibitors, anti-CD38 mAbs, and early-phase CAR T-cell therapies have shown promise in selected patients. Increasingly, immunologic phenotyping or gene expression profiling may help tailor desensitization strategies to individual recipients.

Most highly sensitized candidates now achieve transplant through allocation policy or paired donation. For those with CPRA at least 99.9%, desensitization will likely remain an important tool to facilitate transplantation. Emerging therapies and immunologic profiling may help individualize treatment and expand transplant access for this challenging group.