Many people have benefitted from this technique at Fortis Hospital Mohali
Una/Shimla, August 11, 2019: 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.
Dr. Priyadarshi Ranjan, Chief Kidney Transplant Surgeon at Fortis Hospital Mohali, today addressed media persons here today and talked about the ABO incompatible transplants.
“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 transplants are a reality and they have been successfully performed at Fortis Hospital,” said Dr Ranjan. He has 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”.
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 added: “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 thekidney 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.
Dr Ranjan added that two to three weeks after the operation, the medications and treatment regimens are the same as for blood group compatible transplant patients, although such patients are more closely monitored post transplant.