HLA MATCHMAKER: A MOLECULARLY BASED ALGORITHM FOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY DETERMINATION

In organ transplantation, donor-recipient histocompatibility is generally determined by counting the number of mismatched antigens in the donor’s HLA-A, B, DR phenotype. Many studies have shown that zero-HLA antigen mismatched transplants have the highest success rates and these findings have led to the allocation polity of mandatory sharing of zero-mismatched cadaver kidneys. Another method for assessing donor- recipient compatibility considers public epitopes that are shared by HLA antigens belonging to so-called cross-reacting antigen groups (CREGs).