Kinetics of the MLR response following single donor-specific allogeneic blood transfusions.

Prior blood transfusion (BT) confers a significant improvement in transplant survival in recipients (1). However, increased survival across major histocompatibility barriers generally requires the administration of immunosuppressive agents (2-5). The mechanisms by which BT prolongs graft survival have not been fully elucidated. Experimental evidence suggests that suppressor cells (6,7), soluble suppressor factors (8), and blocking antibodies (9) may play a role.