A new study by researchers at University Hospital Basel
suggested that women who receive kidneys from males have a higher rate of graft
failure than other donor-recipient combinations, therefore, gender should be
considered while choosing donor matches.

The researchers from the Collaborative Transplant Study in
Heidelberg, led by Professor Alois Gratwohl from University Hospital Basel,
Switzerland), analyzed data on 195,516 people in Europe who received kidneys
from deceased donors between 1985 and 2004 at over 400 centers in Europe and,
surprisingly, found intricate gender interactions.

When evaluated against all other gender combinations,
transplantation of male donor kidneys into female patients was found to be
associated with an 8 percent increased risk of graft failure and an 11 percent
increased risk of graft failure-related death in the first year. Between two
and 10 years, the rates were 6 percent and 10 percent. 

“Our multi-variable analysis showed that transplantation of
kidneys from male donor into female recipients caused an increased rate of
graft failure, which suggests an immunological H-Y effect in renal
transplantation during the first year after transplantation that extends to 10
years of follow-up ... Consideration of sex should be integrated into future
prospective analyses and decisions on organ allocation,” the researchers wrote.

Contrary to this, a spokesperson for UK Transplant quoted by
the BBC said, “No statistical evidence was found to suggest any of the
sex-related factors significantly affected post-transplant graft survival.
Therefore, donor to recipient sex matching is not something that is considered
in the kidney allocation scheme.”