title: New Zealand's first two-pair kidney transplant chain.
abstract: Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for end-stage renal disease, providing better quality and quantity of life compared with dialysis. Living donor transplantation is being increasingly utilised to match the demand, however it is limited by HLA antigens or ABO blood group incompatibility between the donor and recipient.  Organising a kidney transplant chain can overcome such incompatibilities through recipients 'exchanging' incompatible for compatible donors. We have reported New Zealand's first two-pair kidney transplant chain, outlining the reasons for this new technique, its benefits and some of its limitations.
authors.affiliation: k.voitov@googlemail.com
authors.forename: Karina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Voitov
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muthu
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System / Q000276:immunology*; D001787:Blood Group Incompatibility / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D018570:Risk Assessment; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System