Adding yet another accolade to its name, the Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow has successfully completed its first-ever ABO-incompatible kidney transplant surgery. While the mismatch blood group operation was conducted recently at the newly launched facility at the Lohia Hospital, its information was shared only after the donor and recipient recovered fully. Notably, the RML Institute of Medical Sciences is second only to the SGPGIMS to conduct this advanced procedure in Lucknow.
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As per Professor Abhilash Chandra of the Nephrology Department, this unique transplant procedure was performed on a 26-year-old youth from Lakhimpur Kheri through the organ received from his 48-year-old mother. The donor and recipient had AB positive and B positive blood groups respectively, eliminating the option of the conventional blood-group compatible transplant.
Usually, the recipient's immune system refuses the donated organ if it does not match with the donor's. This is where the new procedure steps in for it allows the transplant irrespective of the blood type. Reportedly, a special surgery is performed as part of the novel process, where all antibodies in the immune system that reject the transplanted organ are removed.
"In this case, the patient was put on immunosuppressants and his antibodies were removed through five plasmapheresis sessions before the transplant. The kidney of the donor was taken out through the laparoscopic method to avoid blood loss," said Dr Ishwar Dayal, Head of Urology Department, who was also part of the team.
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While a list of benefits can be expected, it is noteworthy that the surgery will cost double the usual amount of ₹2.5 to ₹3 lakh. The procedure calls for additional preparation time, use of special drugs and immunosuppressants, longer hospital stays and recovery and hence the beefed cost and costs.
However, the ABO-incompatible transplant is a lifesaver for those patients who are in need of an urgent transplant but are not able to find matching donors, stated another member of the team, nephrologist Dr. Namrata Rao.
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