Swap Transplant done at Justice K S Hegde Hospital

Swap Transplant done at Justice K S Hegde Hospital

Mangaluru: Each year hundreds of people die while waiting for an organ transplant. There is an acute shortage of organs as there exists a gap between the number of organs donated and the number of people waiting for transplantation which is getting larger. Renal transplantation is the only curative treatment for patients with the end-stage renal disease. Statistics suggest that 1.5 lakh people in India are waiting for a kidney. Only one out of 30 people who need a kidney will receive it.

Many times, when there are donors within the family, blood group incompatibility makes transplantation near impossible although blood group incompatible transplants are now being done in many centers as the costs are prohibitive. A lot many patients end up on lifelong dialysis when family members are not suitable for kidney donation due to blood group incompatibility.

There are many hindrances for cadaveric organ transplants too. Lack of awareness, myths and misconceptions are among the main reasons which hinder organ donation. Donor nonavailability due to multiple reasons is the biggest hurdle for patients with the end-stage renal disease.

In such a scenario swapping of donors in related transplants is another initiative to reduce the mismatch between availability and requirement of organs.

Both Seema Greff and Shanthi Rao (names changed) in their thirties wanted to donate a kidney to their husbands who were suffering from end-stage renal disease and were undergoing dialysis thrice weekly. Their blood groups were not matching to their husbands and could not afford the high cost involved in blood group incompatible transplants.

Dr Janardhan Kamath, Greff’s nephrologist had discussed the swap option with him and he had, in turn, discussed the same with his wife. Seema was then on the lookout for a suitable donor for swap and came across Sohan Rao through a common friend. Sohan Rao was dialyzing at another hospital. They approached Sohan and his wife with the proposal of swap who readily agreed. Shanthi Rao (Sohan Rao’s wife) and Greff were A Positive while Seema (Greff’s wife) and Sohan Rao were ‘B’ positive.

Dr Janardhan Kamath counseled them regarding the swap arrangements and the surgeries involved. Once the preliminary workup was done, they were prepared for transplant surgery and had a joint meeting with urology and anesthesiology team in KSHEMA

Shanthi Rao was to donate a kidney to Greff and Seema was to donate one of her kidneys to Sohan Rao. After procuring permission from state-level authorization committee for transplantation of human organs, Bengaluru and KSHEMA for organ donation, they were taken up for kidney transplantation at KS Hegde Hospital Deralakatte Mangaluru.

The doctors Dr Rajeev T P (Prof. & Head, Dept. of Urology) with his team of Urologists Dr Arun R Menon, Dr Suraj Hegde and Dr Abhishek Bhat conducted 4 major operations simultaneously. Dr Anand Bangera (Prof & Head, Dept. of Anesthesia), Prof Dr Sumalatha Shetty, Dr Nikhil Shetty,(Anesthesiologists;) Nephrologists Dr Janardhan Kamath, Dr Shobhana Nayak Rao (Prof.& Head) and Dr Pradeep Shenoy were involved in the care of these patients and donors.

Both donor and recipients got discharged within 10 days with normal renal function. Laveena Riya Castelino had a pivotal role as the transplant coordinator.

Prof. (Dr.) Sathish Kumar Bhandary, Dean KSHEMA, Major (Dr) Shivakumar Hiremath, Medical Superintendent of K.S.Hegde hospital and Dr J P Shetty, Registrar congratulated the team of doctors, OT, ICU & transplant nurses and technicians. The teamwork and good co-ordination to materialize such a major undertaking was appreciated. The need for creating more awareness in the community about swap transplant was stressed upon.

Shared kidneys embellish lives and prove that Life need not be waitlisted, it transcends communal, regional and all other barriers.