Navi Mumbai: In a first, swap transplant takes place in city

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For the first time, a Swap transplant took place in Navi Mumbai in which two families donated a kidney to each other to save the lives of two people. The transplant was done by Apollo hospital of Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra. The doctors claimed that it is the first swap transplant that has happened in the city.

A resident of Sion, Parvinder Singh (61) and a resident of Uran Rahul Sitha (28) both were suffering from end-stage kidney. Parvinder's husband Gurudev was ready to donate a kidney to his wife and Rahul's mother Sunanda was also ready but due to an incompatible blood match, both were not able to donate their kin.

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Dr. Amolkumar Patil, Consultant, Robotic Urology and Renal Transplant Surgeon, said, "Gurudev Saini was A+ and his wife was AB+. She had a high titer of donor-specific antibodies (DSA) against her husband and a high risk of rejection (30 - 40 percent). She did not find any compatible donor in the city of Mumbai for the past 18 months. Similarly, Rahul Sitha (O positive) had high titer blood group antibodies against his mother Sunandha (B positive). This meant higher cost and higher or stronger immunosuppression for transplant with increased risk of rejection. With a swap transplant, both recipients showed a low titer of DSA and had a high success rate, requiring less strong drugs, and had low chances of infection."

Dr. Amit Langote, Consultant, Nephrology and Transplant Physician, said, "Swap transplant is a potential solution for patients with kidney failure who have a family donor but cannot donate due to compatibility issues. In this case, by swapping, both patients got better kidneys with significantly low risk of rejection and resulted in a successful procedure for both families." The transplant took place mid of August and both patients have got discharged and they are doing well.