title: Histocompatibility (HLA) antigens and keratoplasty.
abstract: In 84 cases of keratoplasty, all patients had densely vascularized corneas and a history of prior exposure to HLA antigens by pregnancy, blood transfusion, or previous transplantation. Donors were selected on the basis of a negative crossmatch to avoid donor antigens to which the recipient was preimmunized. The overall rate of graft failure from rejection was 15%. A retrospective analysis of donor-recipient HLA matching in 103 high-risk cases showed no consistent correlation between the number of antigens shared and graft outcome. These findings indicated negative cross-match to be important in donor selection for keratoplasty in high-risk cases.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002906:Chromosomes, Human, 6-12 and X; D003315:Cornea / Q000473:pathology; D016039:Corneal Transplantation; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens