Introduction:

In survival after heart transplantation, the use of antibodies against the main histocompatibility system (anti-HLA antibodies) is important. Six years ago, the percentage of anti-HLA antibodies against panel (PRA) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was introduced in Cuba as part of the pre-transplant compatibility tests of heart transplant recipients.

Objective:

To characterize anti-HLA antibodies in Cuban heart transplant recipients.

Methods:

Between September 2013 and April 2017, PRA by ELISA was performed on 38 patient samples received in the histocompatibility laboratory of the Institute of Hematology and Immunology. Comparison of proportions was used for statistical analysis.

Results:

47.4% of the study patients presented anti-HLA antibodies; those in class were the most frequent. The proportion of patients with PRA of 0% was higher in PRA class II than in class I (p=0.0027). The proportion of patients with PRA class I was greater, accounting for 20-75% (p=0.0046). 77.8% of the patients had a class I PRA greater than 10%, while in class II PRA it reached 80%.

Conclusions:

The percentage of anti-HLA antibodies versus a panel of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method allowed better characterization of anti-HLA antibodies, which contributed to improving compatibility in this type of patient.

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