Renal transplant, one of the methods to give relief to patients with a chronic kidney problem, cannot just happen like that. A kidney has to be donated by a first degree relation - parents, wife or husband, brother and sister – since donation from out of family is barred by the law. Then the blood groups of receiver and donor (the first degree relation) have to be compatible as otherwise the kidney is rejected. If the blood groups do not match, the way out is dialysis which is not only expensive but also not comfortable as the patient would not be enjoying a completely normal life.
However, there is a way out for such patients in the shape of ABO incompatibility renal transplantation, a process which would help a patient receive a kidney from a donor with a different blood group. Through a process called desensitisation protocol, anti-bodies of the blood group (A, B or O) of a patient are removed by injecting him or her with medicines and filters for a period of four to six weeks, or even more in the case of some patients, and the anti-body titres are brought down to acceptable level. Then renal transplantation is done on the patient with the donor’s kidney, HoD and consultant nephrologist of Manipal Super Speciality Hospital here P. Sriram Naveen explained to The Hindu.
Successful surgery
He has successfully performed such a surgery on 31-year-old J. Sattibabu of Chodavaram. Sattibabu’s blood group is O positive and as none of his first degree relations was compatible with his blood group, the ABO incompatibility transplantation method was explained to the family and his mother Chinnathalli, whose blood group is B positive, decided to donate her kidney. With special medication and filters, the anti-B antibodies were removed from Sattibabu’s blood. “The filters are imported and expensive. Using a filter is like dialysis,” Dr. Sriram Naveen said. There was no increase in the post-operative anti- B titres and no post-operative complications arose. The patient is ready for discharge, he added.
