Visakhapatnam: In a rare, docs transplant kidney without blood match

Visakhapatnam: With the advent of the new technology, the issue of matching blood group among the donors is no longer a hurdle for the renal transplant.

A rare kidney transplant surgery was performed at Care Hospitals between two different blood groups of the recipient and the donor.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr A V Venugopal said in unusual circumstances, transplant is done between blood group matched individuals as the risk of acute rejections is very high if it's done between mismatched people. But with the available cost-effective new technique, Dr Venugopal said, the risk of rejection is reduced.

"A special procedure called double filtration plasmapheresis and a tailored immune-suppression is required for successful outcome.

With new medical advancements, patients even with end stage kidney failure need not wait for the group-matched kidney for transplant as this surgery can be successfully carried out with double filtration plasmapheresis," the doctor said.

A 50-year-old M Venkat Rao from Mandapeta village of East Godavari district, was suffering kidney failure. He was waiting for a matched donor to undergo transplant. With the confidence given by the doctors, his wife agreed to donate her kidney though there was a blood group mismatch. Post the surgery, Venkat Rao is leading a normal life.

According to the operating officer of the hospital Vishwajeet Kumar, the advanced procedure is going to help so many kidney patients on dialysis struggling to get matched kidney.

A team of doctors comprising A V Venugopal, Harini Agnes, Ch Subba Rao, G Suman, D Sekhar and P Chaitanya carried out the kidney transplant recently.