First successful kidney transplant exchange at Jaber Hospital

In a new medical breakthrough, the Ministry of Health (MoH) announced the success of the first kidney transplant exchange operation, coinciding with the launch of the National Kidney Transplant Exchange Program. The program is a pioneering initiative set up to increase the pool of kidney donors in the country.

At the occasion, Dr. Saja Sorour, Head of Organ Transplant department at Jaber Hospital, stated that the kidney transplant exchange program is a solution for patients who have a relative willing to donate a kidney, but is unable donate to their own family member due to immunological mismatch resulting from the presence of antibodies or different blood types between the donor and recipient. In this case, if there is another patient who has a donor relative who is again incompatible, the donors are exchanged.

As a result, the donor from the first family donates a kidney to the patient in the second family, and the donor from the second family donates a kidney to the patient in the first family, thereby giving everyone the opportunity to obtain a successful transplant.

This initiative comes within the MOH strategy to streamline organ transplant services in the country, as the new program reduces waiting periods and improves success rates for transplants, as reported by Al Jarida.

Dr. Saja Sorour reiterated that this successful exchange surgery represents an important step in increasing patients’ chances of obtaining a successful kidney transplant. “The National Kidney Transplant Exchange Program reflects our commitment to provide optimized medical solutions for patients and makes us competent to treat cases that had difficulty finding compatible donors. Our next step is to expand the scope of the program to include more patients and families, adding that the kidney exchange process is an innovative solution to problems faced by many patients unable to find compatible donors within the family.”

“Today, we are witnessing the fruit of long-standing efforts and cooperation between various medical departments. This program not only contributes to giving patients a new lease of life, but also opens new horizons for organ transplant operations in Kuwait,” said Dr. Nada Jassim Al-Shatti, Head of the Immunology Unit, Tissue Compatibility Laboratory for Organ and Stem Cell Transplantation at the Yacoub Behbehani Center.