In a groundbreaking medical achievement, a multidisciplinary team at Gleneagles Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, has successfully conducted the city’s first HLA-compatible, acceptable mismatch domino kidney transplant of the year. The complex procedure, led by Dr. Bharat Shah, Dr. Shruti Tapiawala, Dr. Pradeep Rao, and Dr. Jitendra Jagtap, involved six synchronized surgeries across multiple hospitals and states, uniting three donors and three recipients in a life-saving chain.
Revolutionizing Kidney Transplantation for Sensitized Patients
As per the press release, this landmark surgery addressed the challenges faced by highly sensitized patients—those with elevated antibody levels due to prior transplants, pregnancies, or blood transfusions. These patients, who constitute 7–10% of the transplant population, often encounter rejection risks of 30–35% despite desensitization protocols. Advanced transplant immunodiagnostics and acceptable mismatch techniques in HLA medicine enabled the successful matching and transplantation for these high-risk patients.
Dr. Bharat Shah, Director of Renal Sciences at Gleneagles Hospital, highlighted, “Domino transplants create life-saving ripple effects for patients with limited options. This achievement underscores the power of teamwork and innovation in modern medicine.”
The Patients’ Stories
The procedure provided a new lease on life to three recipients battling severe challenges:
- A 55-year-old woman from Hyderabad, whose donor-specific antibodies rendered her incompatible with all family donors.
- A 17-year-old boy, whose first transplant failed during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving him highly sensitized.
- An 18-year-old girl, who lost a kidney to infection and faced congenital abnormalities alongside incompatibilities with her potential donor.
Months of rigorous HLA matching, antibody profiling, and counseling culminated in the complex surgeries on December 19, which lasted 18 hours.
Innovative Approach and Teamwork
Dr. Pradeep Rao, Director of Urology and Kidney Transplant, explained, “Domino transplants and paired exchanges are game-changers for sensitized patients. Despite legal and logistical hurdles, they provide hope for those who would otherwise remain on dialysis indefinitely.”