There was a time when kidney transplants could not be effected due to the mismatch between donor and recipient’s blood types. However, this has changed with the latest know-how and advanced technology. Spelling boon for patients who require kidney transplantation, Fortis Hospital Mohali has been successfully carrying out ABO incompatible transplants, thus giving new lease of life to many patients.Doctor from Fortis Mohali addressed media persons here today and talked about the ABO incompatible transplants. One of the patients who have undergone this transplant, Jatinder Kumar from Jalandhar said his father had donated his kidney to him, despite their blood groups not matching.
The Doctors team comprised of Dr Priyadarshi Ranjan, Consultant Urologist and Chief, Kidney Transplant surgeon, who performed all these surgeries and the nephrology team headed by Senior Consultant Dr HJS Gill and attending Consultant Dr Amit Sharma along with the haemapharesis expert and head of the blood bank Dr Apra Kalra. Dr Priyadarshi Ranjan has officially received the Incompatible blood type kidney transplant training at the Comprehensive transplant center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, USA under Prof. Robert Montgomery, who is also known as the “father of incompatible blood type kidney transplant surgery”.
Introducing the patient Jatinder Kumar, who specially came from the United States to get this surgery done here with us, Dr Ranjan said he is one of the thirteen patients to have successfully undergone this type of incompatible blood type kidney transplant. “Traditionally, transplants have always required an exact blood match to have a chance of working. However, now it is no longer an essential criterion that blood group of donor and recipient should match while performing the kidney transplant. These days, ABO incompatible blood type kidney transplant are a reality and they have been successfully performed at Fortis Hospital Mohali as is evident from Jatinder’s case. At Fortis Mohali, now more than fourteen such patients have undergone such a transplant operation.
Dr. Ranjan said the number of kidney failure patients has been increasing across the world and kidney transplant is the only definitive treatment. “With this technique, it is possible to save countless lives,” he said and explained that to prepare for ABO incompatible transplantation, a simple blood test is performed to determine the amount of antibody in the bloodstream. Most people have a level of antibody that is treatable. Due to the new technique of immune conditioning, it is now possible to transplant organs across blood group barriers. It has come as a boon to patients who do not have any blood group compatible donors in family.
Dr Ranjan further added that “In these complex kidney transplants, a procedure is conducted wherein the antibodies are taken out of blood plasma of the recipient which is called plasmapheresis. This ensures that the recipient can receive a kidney from a relative with a different blood type and it will be accepted by his/her body without being rejected due to the harmful antibodies" we have one of the best Plasmapharesis machines, which can cleanse all the anti blood group antibodies effectively before and after the Kidney transplant” The next step in the process is to schedule kidney transplant surgery and finally give treatments for post-transplant to reduce blood group antibody, if it rises.Two weeks after the operation, the medications and treatment regimens are the same as for blood group compatible transplant patients.