Surasak KantachuvesiriAtiporn IngsathitDuangtawan ThammanichanondKunvadee ChoochaeamSupasil Sra-iumChagriya KitiyakaraArkom NongnuchBundit SakulchairungruengSuchin WorawichawongFaculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University2020-10-052020-10-052020-01-01Transplantation Proceedings. (2020)18732623004113452-s2.0-85090979732https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/59251© 2020 Elsevier Inc. Background: Pretransplant desensitization protocols, including plasmapheresis, intravenous immunoglobulin, induction antibody therapy, and intensive maintenance immunosuppression, are generally employed in kidney transplant recipients who have positive status for donor-specific anti-HLA antibody (DSA). To avoid serious infectious complications, the authors designed a novel low-dose protocol in Thai patients undergoing DSA+ living-related kidney transplantation (LRKT). Methods: A retrospective cohort study of the patients who underwent DSA+ LRKT was conducted. The novel protocol consisted of 3 to 5 sessions of pretransplant double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) with or without low-dose intravenous immunoglobulin together with low-dose anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) induction (1-1.5 mg/kg/d for 3-4 days) and low-dose tacrolimus (Tac) (trough level 5-10 ng/mL), mycophenolate, and prednisolone. Results: The study included 17 patients. The lymphocyte crossmatch via complement-dependent cytotoxicity was negative in 12 patients and positive for B cell immunoglobulin M in 5 patients. The novel desensitization protocol resulted in a decrease of at least 50% of DSA mean fluorescence intensity from baseline (from 4320 ± 549 before DFPP to 1601 ± 350 before transplantation, P <.005) and successful kidney transplantation with good allograft function in all cases. Early DSA rebound was observed in 3 patients after transplantation, and kidney biopsy revealed subclinical antibody-mediated rejection in 1 patient and diffuse C4d staining without cell infiltration in 2 patients. There were good long-term outcomes in patient and graft survival (100% and 94.1%, respectively). Only 1 allograft loss occurred because of nonadherence. The majority of patients have stable allograft function with serum creatinine less than 1.5 mg/dL. However, infections, including CMV and other organisms, were commonly observed. Conclusions: Desensitization protocol with DFPP, low-dose ATG, and Tac provides excellent outcomes in living donor kidney transplantation in highly sensitized Asian populations.Mahidol UniversityMedicineArticleSCOPUS10.1016/j.transproceed.2020.08.019