First of its kind swap kidney transplant also known as paired kidney donation was recently performed at the Apollo Specialty Hospital in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Swap transplant is the interchange of kidney donors between two families.
Two patients were to get kidney transplantation owing to renal failure.
Dr P Arun Prasath, Nephrologist at Apollo Specialty Hospital mentioned that both the patients were undergoing dialysis for a while. “Both were also looking for a suitable donor for a while. At this point in time, we discussed the possibility of a swap transplant and both readily accepted. After getting the necessary approval, the procedure was performed,” he added.
Speaking about swap transplant, the doctors who performed the surgery said that at a time where there has been an increase in the number of kidney diseases with acute shortage of organs, swap transplant could be a “reasonable alternative” and could help increase the donor pool.