title: HLA antibody screening in kidney transplantation: current guidelines.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In organ transplantation, the introduction of the solid phase immunoassay technology radically changed the practice of antibody monitoring against human leukocyte antigens (HLA).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Precise identification of antibody specificities in complex sera of sensitized patients and monitoring of low levels of donor-specific HLA antibodies in the posttransplant phase became possible. However, at the same time, new technical problems and great variation emerged in the interpretation of test results, indicating a need for standardization.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In May 2012, The Transplantation Society (TTS) recruited a panel of laboratory and clinical experts to discuss emerging testing and clinical management issues that are associated with antibody testing in organ transplantation. In this article, we provide a summary of the TTS recommendations formulated in this international effort on the standardization of antibody monitoring in kidney transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Transplantation Immunology, Institute of Immunology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 305, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Dániel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wettstein
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Opelz
authors.forename: Caner
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Süsal
mesh_terms: D000918:Antibody Specificity / Q000276:immunology*; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens