New Study Reveals Patients Can Receive Kidney Transplants From Incompatible Donor

A revolutionary new study revealed that an incompatible kidney can still be transplanted and can even lengthen the life-span than those who receive a compatible kidney. 

Dr. Dorry Segev, the study's senior author of John Hopkins University, stated, "We used to say if you had a compatible donor, you could do a transplant. Now you can say, if you have an incompatible donor, we still can make that transplant happen.That's very exciting to those on the waiting list."

The researching team found that the key is through altering the immune system of the recipient in order for them to successfully receive the incompatible kidney. Compared to those who remained the waiting lists or received a compatible kidney from a deceased donor, more of these patients with incompatible kidneys were still alive after eight years. 

There are some patients who are so sensitive that receiving that only receiving a perfect compatible kidney is possible. The antibodies in their body would attack an incompatible transplanted kidney. However, through the altering process called desensitization, those with a less sensitive immune system can have their antibodies altered.

What desensitization does is filter out the antibodies first and then given an infusion of other antibodies, causing the patient's immune system to regenerate these antibodies. 

This new finding has the potential to change the lives of thousands, such as Clinton Smith, 56 year old-lawyer from New Orleans, who told New York Times, "[The procedure] changed my life."

"It's all about timing," said Dr. Sanjay Kulkarni, from Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Yale School of Medicine. "The longer people are on dialysis before they have a transplant, the worse their survival." 

Dr. Kulkarni told Reuters Health, "So if you have a living donor, instead of waiting five years for a compatible donor, if you can get a transplant from an incompatible donor in a couple of months, this paper suggests that that is beneficial, despite the fact that they have a higher rate of rejection."

The process is expensive, but can be cost effective over time, said Dr. Segev, especially compared to a $100,000 a year of dialysis for those who are waiting for a transplant

"But compared to the cost of a transplant, it's relatively low. If a transplant costs perhaps $100,000 and you add desensitization, it might be $110,000 to $120,000," he said.