The aims of the study were threefold: (1) to analyse the long-term overall kidney graft survival within Eurotransplant for the period 1971-1987; (2) to examine the effect of matching for HLA over the years, with the aid of half-lives after the first post-transplant year; and (3) to take prognostic factors into account for the period 1981-1987, comparing their influence on the long-term outcome of the graft and to predict half-lives for various combinations of factors.