KINETICS OF THE MLR RESPONSE FOLLOWING SINGLE DONOR-SPECIFIC ALLOGENEIC BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS

Abstract
Prior blood transfusion (BT)4 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.