Two men undergo swap kidney transplant

Two men suffering from chronic kidney disease successfully underwent a swap kidney transplant after their wives donated their kidneys to each other's husband at a hospital here.

S.B. Ram, a 61-year-old who worked with SAIL, and 58-year-old Sant Ram, an employee of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), were on dialysis for two years.

They ran from pillar to post in search of a kidney donor, but both failed the compatibility test within their respective families.

The two completely unknown families came together and gave each other a new lease of life due to an active organ registry maintained by B.L. Kapoor Super Specialty Hospital.

A dedicated team of specialists - four transplant surgeons, two nephrologists and four anaesthetists - conducted a 10-hour-long swap kidney transplant surgery also known as paired donation transplant.

"Both patients had high sugar levels. A week before surgery, one patient developed multiple abscesses and boils which had to be drained out. This delayed the transplant operation," said Sunil Prakash, senior consultant and director of nephrology at the B.L. Kapoor Super Specialty Hospital.

"Both patients had very low platelet counts, which was a major challenge for the team. There were very high chances of bleeding during and after the operation. However, our team was equipped by all means to handle any complexity arising during or after the surgery," he said.