KIMS Hospitals sets new precedent in organ donation with swap registry

Hyderabad: The Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS Hospitals) has set new standards in organ donation and transplant by creating a ‘swap registry’

A team of experts at KIMS Hospitals led by Senior Transplantation Surgeon Padmashri Dr Sarbeswar Sahariah, have transplanted a compatible kidney of a donor from one family to a recipient of a different family, and vice versa. This form of kidney exchange or swap is a simple barter practise, which helps protect lives of two individuals. Such transplant surgeries are pre-approved by Authorization Committee for Organ Transplantation, Govt. Of Telangana , the regulatory authority which has the final word on organ donation/transplant.

Commenting on the procedure and its necessity to our society, Padmashri Dr Sarbeswar Sahariah said, “With the growing instances of kidney failures in India, transplant of compatible kidneys is obligatory to save lives. At times it becomes very difficult to find a suitable donor kidney from within the same family; hence it is relevant for hospitals and regulatory authorities to maintain a swap registry to help patients find suitable organs from a different family. This practice is well evolved in developed nations like the United States, and scope for this is immense in a country like India. It is to be noted that such a practice only develops strong bonding between different families.”

Swap transplant of kidneys: By doing a swap, two patients with kidney failure who in normal circumstances cannot undergo a transplant because of blood group mismatch within the family, can now go ahead with kidney transplantation.

Santosh- 16 yrs, son (Name Changed), who was suffering from kidney ailment due to end-stage renal disease needed a kidney transplant for surviving and his Father Ramana - 42 yrs (Name Changed), wanted to donate his kidney to his son but he couldn’t donate his kidney, as father and son blood group didn’t match. On the other hand, Pavan Kumar -26 yrs, son (Name Changed) who was suffering from end-stage renal disease needed a  kidney for surviving and his father Kishore -56 yrs (Name Changed)  wanted to donate his kidney to his son  but he couldn’t donate his kidney to his son, as father and son blood group didn’t match

Interestingly, the blood group of Ramana matched with that of Pavan Kumar; and Kishore group was a suitable match for Santosh. So the doctors at KIMS Hospitals had suggested SWAP Kidney Transplant. Both the families has agreed for it.

After counseling by Doctors at KIMS Hospitals and detailed medical work-up. Both these families were sent to Authorization Committee for Organ Transplantation, Govt. Of Telangana , the regulatory authority for all necessary clearances before the procedure of swap transplant was conducted at KIMS Hospitals.

These procedures were performed and both the patients and their donors were discharged within 12 days of surgeries. The recipients and their donors are leading active lives setting an example for most others in the society.

Swap transplant in addition to cadaver transplants will help address a major problem of patients dying of non-availability of suitable organs. And successful transplants in this instance only strengthen the argument in favour of setting up swap registries across all hospitals and nodal institutions and regulatory authorities.