{"id":2893,"date":"2026-09-06T15:52:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T15:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/?p=2893"},"modified":"2026-09-06T17:32:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T17:32:26","slug":"kidney-transplant-compatibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/kidney-transplant-compatibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Kidney Transplant Compatibility"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2893\" class=\"elementor elementor-2893\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-577f37c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"577f37c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-211997b elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"211997b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div id=\"bh\">\n\n<section class=\"hero\">\n  <div class=\"in\">\n    <p class=\"eyebrow\">Kidney transplantation \u00b7 Before the transplant<\/p>\n    <h1>Do you really need a perfect tissue match?<\/h1>\n    <p class=\"lead\">Blood type compatibility, tissue matching and the crossmatch test \u2014\n       explained by a transplant professor, without the myths that stop people from\n       even asking.<\/p>\n    <p class=\"meta\">Written by <b style=\"color:#fff\">Profesor dr Murat Tuncer<\/b> \u00b7\n       Adapted from his book <i>Przeszczep nerek \u2014 z pytaniami i odpowiedziami<\/i><\/p>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<section class=\"wrap\">\n\n  <div class=\"ozet\">\n    <h2>The short answer<\/h2>\n    <ul>\n      <li><b>No, you do not need a perfect tissue match.<\/b> In living donor transplantation,\n          tissue compatibility has largely lost the importance the public still gives it.<\/li>\n      <li><b>Blood type matters far more than tissue type.<\/b> These two are often confused.<\/li>\n      <li>The widely repeated idea that <b>\"you need 50% compatibility\"<\/b> appears in no\n          medical textbook.<\/li>\n      <li>A <b>positive crossmatch is not automatically the end of the road<\/b> \u2014 the antibody\n          type behind the result decides.<\/li>\n      <li>Tissue matching still carries real weight in <b>transplants from deceased donors<\/b> \u2014\n          the rules are different there.<\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <h2>What is a tissue type, exactly?<\/h2>\n\n  <p>Tissue typing is a blood test that shows part of your genetic structure. Just as with\n     blood type, the question is whether the tissue types of the recipient and the donor fit\n     one another.<\/p>\n\n  <p>Tissue types are sets of antigens inherited from your parents. They sit on the surface\n     of almost all of your cells, they do not change during your lifetime, and they function\n     as your individual code.<\/p>\n\n  <p>Everyone has <b>six antigens<\/b> that make up their tissue type, built from three basic\n     characteristics: <b>A, B and DR<\/b>. You carry two of each \u2014 two A, two B, two DR \u2014 one\n     of each pair from your mother and one from your father. Each characteristic has twenty or\n     more known versions, which allows for hundreds of possible tissue codes.<\/p>\n\n  <div class=\"box\">\n    <span class=\"etiket\">Example<\/span>\n    <p>A tissue type might be written as <b>A1\/A2, B7\/B8, DR2\/DR3<\/b>. When doctors speak of\n      \"5 out of 6\" or \"full compatibility\", these are the six values being compared.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <p>Among these antigens, <b>DR compatibility carries more weight than A or B<\/b>. This is why\n     most centres allocating a kidney from a deceased donor look for DR compatibility first,\n     and call in the patients who show the closest overall match.<\/p>\n\n  <div class=\"soru\">\n    <h3>Does tissue compatibility decide whether a transplant succeeds?<\/h3>\n\n    <p>This is where the answer differs sharply depending on where the kidney comes from.<\/p>\n\n    <p><b>For transplants from deceased donors,<\/b> success depends to a large extent on\n       tissue compatibility. Under Turkish law, a recipient must share <b>at least two of the\n       six<\/b> tissue characteristics with the deceased donor, ideally including a DR match.<\/p>\n\n    <p><b>For transplants from living donors,<\/b> the picture has changed. What was once\n       considered decisive has turned out to matter much less than expected:<\/p>\n\n    <div class=\"tblwrap\">\n      <table>\n        <thead>\n          <tr><th>Comparison<\/th><th>Kidney survival at 5 years<\/th><\/tr>\n        <\/thead>\n        <tbody>\n          <tr>\n            <td>Transplant between identical twins <span style=\"color:#7a7a7a\">(all six tissues identical)<\/span><\/td>\n            <td>Only <b>7% higher<\/b> than a transplant with no tissue compatibility at all<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>No tissue compatibility, blood type compatible only<\/td>\n            <td>Approximately <b>80%<\/b><\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>5 out of 6 tissue compatibility<\/td>\n            <td>Approximately <b>80%<\/b> \u2014 essentially the same<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n        <\/tbody>\n      <\/table>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <p>Set that against the reality of dialysis: in T\u00fcrkiye, roughly <b>half of haemodialysis\n       patients die within five years<\/b>. When the difference between a \"perfect\" match and no\n       match at all is a few percentage points, refusing a patient a transplant on tissue\n       grounds costs far more lives than it saves.<\/p>\n\n    <p>For this reason patients should be offered the <b>chance of transplantation regardless\n       of tissue compatibility<\/b> wherever a living donor is available.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"box efsane\">\n    <span class=\"etiket\">A myth worth naming<\/span>\n    <p><b>\"You need 50% compatibility for a transplant.\"<\/b> Or 80%. Or some other figure that\n      circulates among patients and their families.<\/p>\n    <p>These percentages appear in <b>no medical textbook<\/b>. Their only real effect is to\n      discourage living donor transplantation \u2014 which means keeping people on dialysis who\n      could have been transplanted. If someone quotes you a percentage threshold, ask them\n      for the source.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"soru\">\n    <h3>Which matters more \u2014 blood type or tissue type?<\/h3>\n\n    <p><b>Blood type, and by a wide margin.<\/b> The two are frequently confused, but they are\n       not equally important.<\/p>\n\n    <ul>\n      <li><b>Tissue-incompatible transplantation<\/b> can be performed readily, especially with\n          a living donor.<\/li>\n      <li><b>Blood-group-incompatible transplantation<\/b> can only be performed in selected\n          patients, and requires special treatment protocols beforehand.<\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n\n    <p>That second point is worth reading twice, because it is often presented to patients as\n       an absolute barrier. It is not \u2014 but it is a genuine one that requires preparation,\n       not simply a matching donor.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"soru\">\n    <h3>Does full compatibility guarantee the kidney will not be rejected?<\/h3>\n\n    <p>No. Transplants that match on all six antigens do perform better, particularly from\n       deceased donors. But a fully matched kidney can still be rejected.<\/p>\n\n    <p>The clearest evidence is that even transplants <b>between identical twins<\/b> \u2014 where\n       every tissue is the same \u2014 can be lost after a period. This tells us there are\n       important markers on cell surfaces beyond blood type and tissue type that can trigger\n       rejection, and that matching alone does not tell the whole story.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <h2>The crossmatch test<\/h2>\n\n  <p>The lymphocyte crossmatch (LCM) is the <b>first test required after blood and tissue\n     matching<\/b>, for living and deceased donor transplants alike.<\/p>\n\n  <p>In this test the donor's blood is mixed with the potential recipient's. What is being\n     looked for is whether the recipient carries antibodies that would react against the\n     donor's kidney. Under normal circumstances these antibodies are part of how the body\n     defends itself against infection.<\/p>\n\n  <p>If they are present in high amounts, the two bloods react and the test comes back\n     <b>positive<\/b>. If a transplant were performed in that state, the kidney would most\n     likely be lost <b>within hours to days<\/b>.<\/p>\n\n  <div class=\"box\">\n    <span class=\"etiket\">Practical consequence<\/span>\n    <p>The risk of a positive crossmatch is higher in patients who have had a\n      <b>previous kidney transplant<\/b> or a <b>blood transfusion<\/b>. This is why blood\n      transfusions should not be given to dialysis patients unless genuinely necessary \u2014 each\n      one can narrow the range of donors available later.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"soru\">\n    <h3>Does a positive crossmatch mean transplantation is impossible?<\/h3>\n\n    <p><b>No.<\/b> A positive result does not mean everything is over.<\/p>\n\n    <p>First, not every positive crossmatch blocks transplantation. The antibody type behind\n       the result matters:<\/p>\n\n    <div class=\"tblwrap\">\n      <table>\n        <thead>\n          <tr><th>Antibody type<\/th><th>What it means<\/th><\/tr>\n        <\/thead>\n        <tbody>\n          <tr><td><b>IgG<\/b><\/td><td>Transplantation is not possible at that time<\/td><\/tr>\n          <tr><td><b>IgM<\/b><\/td><td>Transplantation can be performed without difficulty<\/td><\/tr>\n        <\/tbody>\n      <\/table>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <p>In other words, a crossmatch positive on IgM antibodies does not stand in the way of\n       transplantation at all \u2014 and this distinction is not always explained to patients when\n       they are given the result.<\/p>\n\n    <p>Second, a crossmatch result describes a moment in time, not a permanent verdict.\n       Antibody levels can change, and transplant centres do work with selected patients whose\n       first crossmatch was positive. Whether that applies in your case depends on the antibody\n       type, the level, and the protocol of the centre assessing you.<\/p>\n\n    <p>If you have been told that a positive crossmatch closes the door, two questions are\n       worth asking: <b>which antibody type was found<\/b>, and <b>was the test repeated<\/b>.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <h2>What this means if you are looking for a transplant<\/h2>\n\n  <p>Three practical conclusions follow from all of the above:<\/p>\n\n  <ul>\n    <li><b>A living donor who is blood type compatible is worth evaluating<\/b>, even if the\n        tissue match looks poor on paper.<\/li>\n    <li><b>A percentage figure is not a decision.<\/b> Ask which antigens matched, whether DR\n        is among them, and what the crossmatch showed.<\/li>\n    <li><b>A \"no\" based on one test deserves a second opinion<\/b> \u2014 particularly a no based on\n        a positive crossmatch or on blood group incompatibility, both of which have\n        established treatment routes.<\/li>\n  <\/ul>\n\n  <div class=\"yazar\">\n    <div class=\"rozet\">MT<\/div>\n    <div>\n      <h3><a href=\"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/murat-tuncer-md\/\" style=\"color:inherit\">Profesor dr Murat Tuncer<\/a><\/h3>\n      <p>Nephrologist and transplant physician. Author of <i>Kidney Transplantation \u2014 With\n        Questions and Answers<\/i> (Istanbul, 2020), written to answer the questions his own\n        patients ask most often. Published research includes the first ABO-incompatible kidney\n        transplantations performed in T\u00fcrkiye.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"cta\">\n    <h2>Have your reports reviewed before you travel<\/h2>\n    <p>Send us your test results and we will tell you honestly whether transplantation is\n       realistic in your case \u2014 including where a previous \"no\" may be worth revisiting.<\/p>\n    <div class=\"btns\">\n      <a class=\"btn btn-1\" href=\"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/medyczny-turystyka\/\">Prze\u015blij swoje raporty medyczne<\/a>\n      <a class=\"btn btn-2\" href=\"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/o-nas\/\">About our team<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"uyari\">\n    <p><b>Wykluczenie odpowiedzialno\u015bci medycznej.<\/b> This article is general information adapted from a published\n      book. It is not personal medical advice, it does not establish a doctor\u2013patient\n      relationship, and it cannot replace assessment by the physician treating you. Transplant\n      eligibility depends on findings specific to each patient and donor. Always consult your\n      own nephrologist or transplant centre before making decisions about your treatment.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"kaynak\">\n    <h3>References<\/h3>\n    <ol>\n      <li>Knoll G, Cockfield S, Blydt-Hansen T, et al. Canadian Society of Transplantation\n        consensus guidelines on eligibility for kidney transplantation.\n        <i>CMAJ<\/i> 2005;173(10).<\/li>\n      <li class=\"kendi\"><b>Tuncer M<\/b>, Gurkan A, Erdogan O, Yucetin L, Demirbas A. Lack of\n        impact of human leukocyte antigen matching in living donor kidney transplantation:\n        experience at Akdeniz University. <i>Transplant Proc<\/i> 2005;37(7):2969\u201372.<\/li>\n      <li class=\"kendi\"><b>Tuncer M<\/b>, et al. ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation: first\n        cases in T\u00fcrkiye. <i>Transplant Proc<\/i> 2012;44(6):1703\u20135.<\/li>\n    <\/ol>\n  <\/div>\n\n<\/section>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kidney transplantation \u00b7 Before the transplant Do you really need a perfect tissue match? Blood type compatibility, tissue matching and the crossmatch test \u2014 explained by a transplant professor, without the myths that stop people from even asking. Written by Prof. Dr. Murat Tuncer \u00b7 Adapted from his book Kidney Transplantation \u2014 With Questions and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kidney-transplant-guide"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2893"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2902,"href":"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2893\/revisions\/2902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookinghospital.org\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}