LAUSR

ABO‐incompatible kidney transplantation (ABO‐ILKT) has been reported to have a higher rate of early complications and higher medical costs than ABO‐compatible kidney transplantation (ABO‐CLKT). We aimed to compare the clinical outcomes, complications, and medical costs between ABO‐ILKTs and ABO‐CLKTs at 2 years post‐transplantation. We included 65 ABO‐ILKTs and 94 ABO‐CLKTs in this retrospective analysis. The patient survival, graft survival, rejection incidence, and graft function were similar between ABO‐CLKT and ABO‐ILKT. The hospitalization costs for ABO‐CLKT and ABO‐ILKT were 26 544 ± 4168 USD and 34 906 ± 18 732 USD, respectively (P = 0.0001). Total 2‐year medical costs were 77 117 ± 15 609 USD and 85 325 ± 33 997 USD for ABO‐CLKT and ABO‐ILKT, respectively, indicating that the medical costs of ABO‐ILKT recipients were non‐significantly higher than those of ABO‐CLKT recipients at 2 years post‐transplantation (P = 0.0866). ABO‐ILKT and ABO‐CLKT recipients showed similar infectious adverse events and complications. In conclusion, medical cost at 2 years post‐transplantation, including transplant hospitalization cost, and the frequency of early complications were not significantly higher in the ABO‐ILKT group than in the ABO‐CLKT group. ABO‐ILKT is an acceptable treatment for patients with ESRD and is comparable to ABO‐CLKT not only in terms of outcomes but also in terms of medical cost.