As many as 20 ABO-incompatible organ donors and recipients come together on October 12 to share their experiences and spread awareness about such transplants and the success rate of the procedures.
The event was organised by Manipal Hospital, Yeshwanthpur, which claimed to be the first hospital in Karnataka to have completed 27 ABO-incompatible kidney transplants.
ABO-incompatible transplant is done when the blood types of the recipient and donor are different, and therefore, incompatible. Such a transplant are thus very complex. However, medical advancements over the years have made it possible to conduct such surgeries with a good success rate.
Deepak Kumar Chithrahalli, Nephrologist and Transplant Surgeon at the hospital, said although ABO-incompatible kidney transplants were started two decades ago, many patients suffering from end-stage diseases are unaware of this option. In a year, out of 1,000 kidney transplants, only 700 cases are ABO-incompatible kidney transplants, he said.
The first ABO-incompatible kidney transplant was performed in India in the year 2011. Since then, this procedure has brought hope to patients struggling to find compatible donors, he said.
