The treatment of chronic renal failure by transplantation.

The entire transplantation experience at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital has been reviewed. This extends between 1951 and 1976, a 25 year period. Information on all patients has been undated through September 1976. Four different periods in the total experience have been compared, as determined by variations in immunosuppressive protocols. Although survival of renal allografts have plateaued over the past several years, the progressive decline in recipient mortality makes renal transplantation an increasingly attractive alternative to dialysis. Transplantation should be used in close conjunction with dialysis in the long-term treatment of patients with chronic renal failure.