ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation boon for end-stage kidney disease patients : experts

ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation boon for end-stage kidney disease patients : experts

Ludhiana 30 July ( PDL ) : “ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation is transforming care for patients with end-stage kidney disease. The patients with ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation are leading healthy and active lives with excellent kidney function, an outcome that would have seemed impossible a decade ago.” Addressing a press conference at Ludhiana on Thursday, Dr. Raka Kaushal, Senior Director– Nephrology at Livasa Hospital, Mohali said that end-stage kidney disease is the final stage of chronic kidney disease, where the kidneys lose nearly all their ability to remove waste products and excess fluids from the body. At this stage, patients require dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive.

She further said, “India is witnessing a steady rise in kidney disease due to diabetes, hypertension and lifestyle-related disorders. While dialysis helps sustain life, kidney transplantation remains the best long-term treatment, offering better survival, improved quality of life and greater independence.” "Unfortunately, many patients never reach transplantation because a compatible donor is not available. Blood group incompatibility has traditionally been one of the biggest barriers, leaving many patients waiting for years”. she said.

Explaining how medical science has overcome this challenge, Dr. Avinash Srivastava, Senior Director – Urology & Kidney Transplant said that ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation allows successful transplantation even when the donor and recipient have different blood groups. The success of such transplants depends on close collaboration between nephrologists, urologists, transplant surgeons, immunologists, intensivists and specialised transplant coordinators, supported by advanced laboratory infrastructure and strict post-transplant follow-up, explained Dr. Srivastava. During the occasion, Veer Singh, who got a new lease of life after a successful ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation at Livasa Mohali in 2017 also shared his experience of leading a healthy life in the past 9 years .