ABO-Incompatible Kidney Transplant

Patients suffering from chronic kidney disease or end-stage kidney disease require a kidney transplant or remain on dialysis. A kidney transplant is the only ray of hope for a better life and survival in patients with end-stage kidney disease.

Unfortunately, in patients with an ABO-incompatible kidney transplant, the donor's and recipient's blood type are incompatible. This means there is no match. However, with advancements in science, it is possible to carry-on transplants in such cases.

In the past, conducting such a transplant would cause the recipient's body to reject the new kidney immediately. This is because the body would recognize the new kidney as a foreign body and cause a reaction that may be fatal. And hence, only those transplants were carried out that were ABO blood type compatible.

Advances in medicine have led to the possibility of ABO-incompatible kidney transplants. Moreover, living donor transplants have reduced the number of people on the waiting list. With this kind of transplant, the patient is given medical therapy to prevent rejection before and after the transplant. Medical therapy lowers the levels of antibodies in the recipient's body and lowers the risk of rejection.