The Forgotten Element of KAS: A2 to B Transplantation Reduces Waiting Time for Blood Group B Patients by 20%.
Medstar Georgetown Transplant Institute, Washington, DC
Meeting: 2017 American Transplant Congress
Abstract number: D299
Keywords: Allocation, Kidney transplantation, Waiting lists
Session Information
Session Name: Poster Session D: Non-Organ Specific: Economics, Public Policy, Allocation, Ethics
Session Type: Poster Session
Date: Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Session Time: 6:00pm-7:00pm
Presentation Time: 6:00pm-7:00pm
Location: Hall D1
Introduction
Since the implementation of the Kidney Allocation System (KAS) in 2014 blood group B patients have been able to receive priority for blood group A2 deceased donor kidneys (DDK). However, nationwide this option has been underutilized with only 2% of such patients considered for these donors. Here we report on the benefits from a robust program of pursuing A2 to B transplants.
Methods
We reviewed our center's data on transplant rates for our blood group B patients. We collected data on their eligibility for A2 transplants as well as the type of transplant they received. Patients are considered eligible to receive a kidney from an A2 donor at our center if their anti-A2 titer is less than or equal to 1:8.
Results
In the 2-year period prior to KAS we performed a total of 319 DDK transplants with 14.6% going to blood group B patients. Following KAS implementation, more than 20% of DDK transplants have gone to group B patients. This increase is entirely attributable to the addition of A2 to B transplants. This has resulted in a marked reduction in waiting times. Those patients that were A2 eligible were transplanted with a significantly lower average wait time of 2177 days, while those ineligible needed almost 2700 days of time to receive a kidney. Rejection rates were not significantly different between the groups (6% among A2 to B transplants compared with 9% overall in our transplant population).
Conclusion
Aggressively pursuing A2 to B transplantation has resulted in a 20% reduction in waiting times for our blood group B patients and increased the number of transplants into blood group B patients by more than 40% without any demonstrable increase in risk.
CITATION INFORMATION: Gilbert A, Radomski S, Langeberg A, Diedrich B, Rosen-Bronson S, Li D, Awwad M, Grafals M, Moore J, Verbesey J, Abrams P, Ghasemian S, Cooper M. The Forgotten Element of KAS: A2 to B Transplantation Reduces Waiting Time for Blood Group B Patients by 20%. Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Gilbert A, Radomski S, Langeberg A, Diedrich B, Rosen-Bronson S, Li D, Awwad M, Grafals M, Moore J, Verbesey J, Abrams P, Ghasemian S, Cooper M. The Forgotten Element of KAS: A2 to B Transplantation Reduces Waiting Time for Blood Group B Patients by 20%. [abstract]. Am J Transplant. 2017; 17 (suppl 3). https://atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/the-forgotten-element-of-kas-a2-to-b-transplantation-reduces-waiting-time-for-blood-group-b-patients-by-20/. Accessed May 25, 2025.« Back to 2017 American Transplant Congress