Positive crossmatches against mandatorily shared kidneys.

From October 1987 through February 1990 approximately 8.5% (29/341) of all donor kidneys shipped under the UNOS Mandatory Sharing Policy were denied to 27 intended recipients due to a positive final crossmatch [XM(+)]. The intended recipients included 18.5% hispanics and 7.4% blacks compared to 2.4% and 1.6%, respectively, for XM(-) recipients (1-3). Further, more were highly sensitized with 81% having a current PRA >10% and 56% with a peak PRA >80% compared to 65% and 14%, respectively, for XM(-) recipients