Private hospital conducts Goa’s first incompatible kidney transplant – ET HealthWorld

Panaji: What is considered as the state’s first ever incompatible kidney transplant was recently performed on a 37-year-old woman, who was diagnosed with kidney failure due to a condition called Chronic Glomerulonephritis — inflammation and scarring inside the kidneys. She was advised to undergo regular dialysis or opt for a kidney transplant.

The transplant was conducted by Dr Madhumohan Prabhudesai, consultant urologist and kidney transplant surgeon and Dr Shital Lengade, consultant nephrologist at Healthway Hospital.

The woman’s 57-year-old mother agreed to be a donor, and approval of the authorisation committee, which was mandatory in organ transplant, was obtained and the day for the transplant was fixed. However, prior to the surgery, a test report revealed presence of a strong antibody in the patient against one of the donor’s HLA (human leukocyte antigen), said Prabhudesai. HLA are proteins used by the immune system to determine which cells belong to a human body and which don’t.

“As per the test report, the donor kidney would immediately be damaged if we were to conduct the transplant. Hence, we explored if another donor in the family could be found,” Lengade said.

Other options of swap kidney transplant and enlisting for cadaver transplant were also considered, he said. But even six months later, a suitable donor was not available.

Lengade said that after discussions, they decided to go ahead with the transplant using the mother as the donor but by having a pre-transplant desensitisation treatment which entails removing harmful antibodies and stop generation of new ones.

For four weeks, the patient underwent desensitisation therapy and plasmapheresis sessions to reduce antibodies which were 16,000, but post therapy they fell below 1,500. “For the first time, we have conducted this kind of transplant surgery in Goa,” Prabhudessai said.

Patients suffering from kidney failures but unable to have a transplant with a donor being not suitable either due to a blood group, or with HLA being not a match, will be able to have a transplant surgery now, Lengade said.