Two people of Bilaspur, both of them were suffering from their early 40s and end-off kidney disease, recently had to undergo a life-saving transplant in AIMS Raipur, but not of normal types.

In the first-way surgery for the state, and a milestone for the institute, doctors demonstrated a swap kidney transplant, a complex process, coinciding with each person with another’s donor wife, in which the inconsistency of the blood group was controlled.

With this achievement, AIMS Raipur has become the first government hospital in Chhattisgarh and successfully to carry out a swap transplant at the new AIIMS institutions – also known as a kidney coupled donation (KPD).

The transplant was done on 15 March and included a team of expert nephrologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists and transplant coordinators.

All four persons, two recipients and their husbands, who proceeded as donors, are recovering well in the transplant ICU.

Recently, Dr. in the transplant team for swap surgery. Vinay Rathore (Transplant Physician), Dr. Amit R Sharma, Dr. Deepak Biswal, Dr. Satyadeo Sharma (Surgeon) is included, as well as Dr. Subrata Singha, Dr. Mayank, Dr. Jitendra and Dr. Sarita is accompanied by Ramchandani with the Department of Enhanresisia and Transplant Staff.

What is swap kidney transplant?

A swap kidney transplant is an option when a patient has an interested donor who is incompatible due to the presence of mismatched or antibodies of the blood group.

Instead of dismissing the possibility of an implants, the pair is matched with another patient-donor pair in a similar position and the donors are swapped.

This ensures that both patients receive compatible kidney.

AIIMS Raipur patients were on dialysis for almost three years. One pair had a B+ donor and one O+ recipient, while the other had reverse – O+ donor and B+ recipient.

Without the need of the deceased donor, swap was allowed for compatible transplantation.

This is particularly important because the swap transplant can increase transplant rates in the country to 15%, a significant growth because India faces a lack of organ donors.

India’s top transplant body, National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO), is emphasizing to make such transplant more accessible in states.

AIMS Raipur is also an emerging leader in a kidney transplant in Chhattisgarh. In the last two years, this deceased donor has been the first to transplant organ, which includes pediatric kidney transplants – another first for the state.

So far, the hospital has done 54 kidney transplants. Of these, 95 out of each 100 cases, the new kidney which was transplanted, is still working well after surgery with 97% of the patient survival rate.

Six deceased donors have donated their organs in the last two years.