Ten years. Six surgeries. Three lives changed.
Steven* had been on the transplant wait list for almost 10 years when he received the call. A compatible kidney had been found. What followed was a complex exchange process involving six surgeries, three donor kidneys and a new ground-breaking medical treatment.
While it’s not uncommon for recipients to spend months or years on the transplant wait-list, Steven is a highly sensitised recipient, meaning his body has developed a high level of antibodies, increasing the risk that his immune system would attack a transplanted donor kidney. This presented a challenge for doctors and scientists.
Steven’s partner was willing to donate their kidney, but they weren’t a match. Refusing to give up, doctors and scientists collaborated and started thinking outside the box. If they could find a recipient who was a match for Steven’s partner, maybe that recipient knew someone who was a match for Steven.
The three-way chain
The Australian and New Zealand Paired Kidney Exchange (ANZKX) program matches incompatible kidney donor and recipient pairs with other incompatible pairs across Australia and New Zealand. In a kidney exchange, a donor who is not a direct match for their intended recipient can still contribute by donating to another recipient who is a match. In turn, a donor who matches the original patient can donate to them. This creates a chain of donations ensuring everyone can receive a transplant.
These chains can involve multiple pairs of recipients and donors. In Steven’s case, he was part of a three-way chain, meaning three recipients and three donors underwent surgery. Steven’s partner donated their kidney to one of the other two recipients and Steven received a kidney from one of their donors.
A groundbreaking treatment
To ensure Steven’s transplant had the greatest chance of success, doctors used a new desensitisation treatment known as Imlifidase to stop his antibodies from attacking the transplanted kidney. Before the operation could take place, samples of Steven’s blood were sent to Lifeblood laboratories to confirm the Imlifidase had neutralised the antibodies and the operation was safe to go ahead.
A new kidney. A new lease on life.
After years of waiting and weeks of planning, Steven was able to receive his transplant thanks to the hard work of countless doctors, scientists and medical professionals. In the space of 24 hours, six operations were undertaken, providing three new kidneys to recipients in need.
10 years is a long time to wait for a kidney. If you want to help recipients like Steven, you can sign up to become an organ and tissue donor. Right now, there are more than 1,800 seriously ill Australians waiting for a transplant. As an organ donor you could help save up to seven lives and change many more.
Learn more about becoming an organ donor
*Name changed to protect patient’s privacy.
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