Abstract. This study reports the geographical incidence of successful pregnancies in women on renal replacement therapy (RRT) and related information on gestation and clinical status of newborns. The impact of successful pregnancy on graft function was assessed by means of a retrospective case-control study.Since 1977 special questionnaires have been sent to each dialysis and transplant centre which reported babies born to mothers on RRT on the yearly centre questionnaire. After 10 years of data collection, a total of 490 pregnancies and 500 babies were available for analysis. A percentage of 88.4 of the babies were born to mothers with a functioning graft, 11.2% to mothers on chronic haemodialysis, and the remaining 0.4% to mothers on CAPD.Almost 50% of all successful pregnancies wereCorrespondence and ojfprint requem to: Professor F. P. Brunner, EDTA Registry, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, UK.reported from the UK. The number of successful pregnancies increased steadily and in parallel with the increasing number of females of childbearing age with a functioning renal transplant. The majority of mothers delivered at age 24-32. For transplanted mothers delivery occurred most commonly during the 3rd and 4th year after successful transplantation. In approximately 85% of cases the duration of pregnancy was shorter than the lower 10th percentile of normal. Birthweight was reduced in accordance with gestational age. Newborn mortality was 1.8%.Fifty-three mothers with a successful pregnancy in 1984 1987 were computer matched with controls according to a number of criteria. The serum creatinine concentration recorded in coded form at the end of each year on the individual EDTA patient questionnaire was used to assess changes in graft function. In 94% of these cases the serum creatinine, recorded 0 11 months before delivery, did not exceed 160 umol/1. Graft function deteriorated in 18% of 280 G. Rizzoni el ai mothers as compared to 24% of controls. Twentyfour to 36 months postpartum, changes of serum creatinine were similar in test cases and controls, suggesting that a successful pregnancy does not adversely affect graft function if this was stable and well preserved at the time of conception.

The educational status, employment rate and social situation were studied in 617 patients between 21 and 35 years of age who started renal replacement therapy (RRT) as children. The data were derived from a special questionnaire concerning disability and rehabilitation sent to dialysis and transplant centres reporting to the EDTA Registry. Fifty-six percent of patients completed secondary school and one in three went on to vocational training. Eleven percent of patients attended university, and 16% were reported to have gone to a special school for the handicapped. Up to one-third of patients who attended different school types failed to complete their education. There were notable geographical differences in schooling and in employment. Fifty-six percent of all patients were employed. Lack of schooling was considered to be a major reason for unemployment. Sixty-one percent of patients with disabilities and 34% without disabilities were receiving invalidity payments. The place of residence of these patients aged 21-35 was usually the parental home. Compared to the general population of similar age, only a few patients were married (13.5% of the total study group) and 8% had children. In summary, the present report shows that the major factors influencing rehabilitation on RRT are the presence of disabilities, the method of treatment, geographical factors, duration of RRT, and the underlying primary renal disease.

Abstract. This paper reports the results of 98 first kidney transplantations in patients with oxalosis as the primary renal disease as recorded by the EDTA Registry. There were 79 patients who received a cadaveric (CAD) graft and 15 patients with a living related donor (LRD) graft; the type of donor was not recorded for four patients. Initial graft survival appeared to be better after LRD as compared to CAD grafts but at 3 years the poor survival was similar with 23% for LRD and 17% for CAD grafts. CAD graft survival did not differ between children and adults and was not affected by the waiting time on dialysis. A slight improvement was observed in grafts performed in the years 1983-1986 as compared to grafts performed in earlier years. The causes of failure reported were mainly rejection (33%) and recurrence of primary renal disease (31 %). In view of the poor results related to recurrence of Correspondence and offprint requests to: Professor F. P. Brunner, EDTA Registry, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, UK. Tel: 01-633 0636. oxalosis in the graft, the potential of combined kidney and liver transplantation is discussed.

Abstract. This paper reports the results of 98 first kidney transplantations in patients with oxalosis as the primary renal disease as recorded by the EDTA Registry. There were 79 patients who received a cadaveric (CAD) graft and 15 patients with a living related donor (LRD) graft; the type of donor was not recorded for four patients. Initial graft survival appeared to be better after LRD as compared to CAD grafts but at 3 years the poor survival was similar with 23% for LRD and 17% for CAD grafts. CAD graft survival did not differ between children and adults and was not affected by the waiting time on dialysis. A slight improvement was observed in grafts performed in the years 1983-1986 as compared to grafts performed in earlier years. The causes of failure reported were mainly rejection (33%) and recurrence of primary renal disease (31 %). In view of the poor results related to recurrence of Correspondence and offprint requests to: Professor F. P. Brunner, EDTA Registry, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, UK. Tel: 01-633 0636. oxalosis in the graft, the potential of combined kidney and liver transplantation is discussed.

A rat model for induction of transplantation tolerance, by antithymocyte globuline (ATG) as sole immunosuppressive agent, was studied. Vascularized heart allografts were employed. The conditions for establishment of long-term surviving (LTS) grafts were investigated as well as some of the characteristics of the tolerant state. The tolerance-inducing effect of ATG was found to be reproducible and dose-dependent. Treatment before grafting was essential. Preimmunization of the recipient inhibited the tolerance induction, while thymectomy seemed to have the opposite effect. The differences in survival of second allografts, third party or syngeneic to the first, indicated a largely strain-specific tolerance that most probably was the result of a changed host reactivity and for its induction strictly depended on presence of the graft. There were microscopical signs of rejection in the LTS grafts, while almost no such changes could be found in second allografts from the same donor strain, transplanted to the LTS-bearing recipients.