Analysis of interracial variation in kidney transplant and patient survival

Negro recipients appear to have essentially the same graft and patient survival rates as Caucasian recipients after accounting for the center effect. Cadaver kidneys from Negro donors yielded very slightly lower survival rates than kidneys from Caucasian donors after correction for the center effect. It appears that centers with poor results may have influenced the conclusions from earlier data regarding Negro donors. Transplants into Oriental recipients either from related donors or from Caucasian cadaver donors result in transplant outcomes that are comparable to the outcomes in Caucasian recipients. Most interesting is the comparable survival rate from Caucasian donors into either Caucasian recipients or Oriental recipients, despite a considerable difference in histocompatibility antigen frequencies between these races. Both Caucasian and Negro patients with nephrosclerosis have graft and patient survival rates that are comparable to patients of the same race without nephrosclerosis. The transfusion effect is noted in both Caucasian and Negro recipients. Comparable proportions receive similar numbers of transfusions in each race.