A lifesaving link?
Delayed allograft function, or DGF, is a common but severe malfunction of a kidney transplant that demands immediate treatment and is associated with kidney rejection.
The condition occurs in 30 to 50 percent of all kidney transplants, but its cause has remained a mystery to researchers.
But now, researchers from the Penn School of Medicine say they've made an important discovery—an association between the genetics of donor-recipient matches and complications, including DFG, that occur during the first week after transplantation. The Penn team says they have found that even small differences in the building blocks of cell-surface proteins used to match kidney donors and recipients can result in an increased risk for DGF. This discovery is important because it offers the first hint of a possible cause for DGF.
The Penn team says the finding could help doctors find better matches for patients in years to come, and also reduce the need for immunosuppressant transplant drugs, which can put patients at increased risk for cancer.
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