Treatment of antibody-mediated graft rejection following kidney transplantation
Acute antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is one of the biggest risks for patients after a transplant. By transplanting organs or tissues from one individual to another, a process known as allogeneic transplantation, the recipient’s immune system is exposed to foreign antigens.
As part of a natural immune response against the graft, the immune system can develop donor-specific antibodies, or DSAs, that are specific to the transplant. These DSAs can cause an AMR that may eventually result in an unsuccessful transplantation.
In kidney transplantation, AMR occurs in approximately 5-7%6 of patients and is a main cause for transplant failure (graft loss). There are approximately 70,000 kidney patients on transplant waiting lists across the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) and approximately 400,000 who currently live with a kidney transplant.7