THE ROLE OF PRETRANSPLANT IMMUNITY IN PROTECTION FROM CYTOMEGALOVIRUS DISEASE FOLLOWING RENAL TRANSPLANTATION

Abstract

To determine the extent to which pretransplant immunity resulting from natural infection protects against cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease, we analyzed CMV serology on 153 kidney donor and recipient pairs and followed transplant patients to determine incidence and severity of CMV disease. The overall incidence of CMV disease was 22%. Significant differences occurred in CMV disease incidence and severity, depending on the immune status of the kidney donor and recipient. Among recipients of kidneys from seropositive donors, immunity offered significant protection from CMV disease, reducing its incidence from 61% in nonimmune to 24% in immune patients (PPP<0.01). The incidence of CMV disease was similar in immune patients, whether they