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Living Donors Bring A Ray of Hope For Patients

By Dr. Waheedu Zzaman in Urology , Kidney Transplant

Feb 14 , 2017 | 1 min read

On an average patients wait for more than 5 years to get a kidney transplant. But, when a living donor is available, there is no waiting required. Surprisingly, the patients find compatible living donors in those they have never met or known. And they are the ones who give life. Dr. Waheed Zaman has vividly explained about on how living donors are essential and pivotal to patients who are desperately seeking a kidney transplant.

What are the benefits of living donor transplant?

The benefit of living donor transplant is that the recipient will have a kidney immediately available to them. There is no waiting list. The surgery can take place while the recipient is relatively stable and is done as an elective procedure. This allows for surgery to occur in a healthier recipient who is expected to have better surgical outcomes.

Who can be a living donor?

According to Indian transplant act, a living donor can only be the recipient’s first degree blood relative, i.e. mother, father, brother, sister or spouse on emotional ground. All kidney transplant patients personally arrange their legal donor.

How is a possible living donor evaluated?

Many variables are considered when evaluating a possible living donor. Living donors must be over 18 years of page, healthy, free of kidney disease and have normal blood pressure. The best matches come from full siblings (brothers or sisters). Areas of evaluation include the following.

Blood group (A,B,O) compatibility of donor and recipient.

Tissue typing: Once the donor’s blood group matches with the patient’s blood group, tissue typing is advised. Both the recipient and donors blood is tested HLA – A, B, & DR. Generally, 50% match is accepted. For spouse donor, even lower match is acceptable.

We have got an experience of performing ABO incompatible kidney transplant. Even if blood group of donor & recipients are not matching, then also transplant can be done. In modern era with the availability of plasmapheresis, adsorption filters and few special drugs, it can be made possible with comparable results.