Tranplants across blood groups
A new technique could allow transplant patients to receive organs from donors with a different blood group.
London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust carried out one of the first such kidney transplants to use a technique, which removes antibodies from blood. When the donor is from a different blood group, these antibodies can cause rejection.
The Guy’s and St Thomas’ team used a technique called antibody specific immunoabsorption. It works in a similar way to the dialysis but removes only the antibodies which cause rejection.
Transplant surgeon Mr. Nizam Mamode told the BBC News website: “Ten per cent of people who are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant could be helped in this way.”
“The implications of this being successful are very significant for other kidney patients.”
“Many have relatives who want to donate but are prevented from doing so because their blood group doesn’t match.”
“Although there are a number of other criteria a donor must meet before we perform a transplant, we hope that this new technique could help bring the benefits of a live transplant to more patients” he said.
Chris Rudge, Medical Director at UK Transplant, said: “This is a significant development with exciting potential for the future. As more patients receive such a transplant and if the results continue to be successful, it should be an important step forward, allowing quite a lot more patients to receive a transplant from a living kidney donor.”
Reference - BBC News
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