Different Blood Types May No Longer Present a Barrier to Live Kidney Donation

New protocols consisting of medications, spleen removal, and a form of blood filtering called plasmapheresis are allowing candidates to receive kidneys from live donors with blood types that have traditionally been deemed incompatible.

Until now, a transplant patient could only receive an organ from someone of the same blood type*. For example, a recipient with blood type A could only receive a kidney from a donor with an A blood type. An organ from a different blood group would be perceived as foreign and vulnerable to attack by the recipient's natural antibodies.

Now, through a process of immune conditioning, a recipient is able to receive a kidney from a donor of a different blood type. This new procedure is currently being provided at a limited number of transplant centers.

The new protocol involves testing the proposed recipient to assess the risk of rejection from harmful antibodies. Next the recipient undergoes plasmapheresis, a process involving the removal of the plasma portion of the blood that contains harmful antibodies and the administration of a medication to prevent their production. The patient is then ready to undergo transplant surgery where, in addition to receiving a donor organ, the patient's spleen is removed using minimally invasive surgical techniques. In some cases, spleen removal can be avoided through the use of a new drug that creates similar effects.

Post transplant, the patient undergoes additional plasmapheresis treatments before being discharged from the hospital. He or she will then take the same immunosuppression medications as patients receiving a compatible kidney.

* Blood type “O”, as a universal donor can give to any of the blood types, but a potential recipient with blood type “O” can only could receive an “O” organ.