How is a kidney transplant matched?

Kidney exchange matching, i.e., kidney transplant tissue matching, the common methods used in clinical practice are ABO blood group, human leukocyte antigen (HLA), population reactive antibody (PRA) and complement-dependent lymphocytotoxicity test (CDC).
1. ABO blood group: blood group can be divided into A, B, AB and O according to the red blood cell surface antigen determinant cluster, in addition, it can also be divided into Rh (+) and Rh (-).
2. HLA: All patients awaiting renal transplantation must be screened for anti-HLA antibodies. HLA typing is very important. HLA incompatibility can lead to proliferation and activation of recipient CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells accompanied by the production of donor-specific antibodies by B cells, resulting in cellular and/or humoral immune-mediated graft rejection.
Testing for HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, and DR antigens in all potential donors and recipients is mandatory, and testing for HLA-DQ antigens is recommended.
3. PRA: PRA is used for kidney transplantation matching and screening. Because PRA has the important role of predicting rejection before transplantation and warning of graft loss after transplantation, PRA>80% positive recipients are generally considered to be a contraindication to transplantation.
4.CDC: In order to avoid the occurrence of hyperacute rejection, appropriate cross-matching test must be carried out before each kidney transplantation, CDC is used to determine whether there are pre-existing antibodies against the donor in the recipient’s body, and its value <10% or negative before kidney transplantation can be performed.
Kidney transplant tissue matching test is a mandatory pre-operative testing procedure. If you need a kidney transplant, it is recommended that you visit a hospital and take the doctor’s advice.