Paired Donation Program "Cross-Matches"

[Clark]

http://www.uofmmedicalcenter.org/ProviderUpdate/SolidOrganTransplant/Paireddonationprogram/index.htm

Paired Donation Program
"Cross-Matches"

The long-term consequences of kidney donation by a living donor have attracted significant interest among physicians, donors and recipients alike in the wake of research that shows that living kidney donor transplants produce far better outcomes than transplants using cadaver organs. As the positive long-term outcomes of kidney transplant donation increase, the paired donor programs at University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, are committed to increase participation in our Paired Donor Programs.

One paired donation results in a minimum of two kidney transplants. By increasing the numbers of paired donors, we can provide more kidney transplants and lessen the risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In fact, last year an anonymous kidney donor at our center began a sequence of ten surgeries, resulting in five people in two states receiving kidney transplants. All 10 people involved in this transplant chain – 5 donors, 5 recipients – reunited at a luncheon last fall. They continue to celebrate their life-saving transplants from people they didn’t previously know.

Obviously, donors are key to the success of this program. Medical professionals are very attentive to the physical and emotional needs of patient with kidney disease. Addressing the physical and emotional needs of a donor are not so routine. There probably is an altruistic benefit to donating a kidney but, unfortunately, there are no physical benefits. As physicians, we often find this a difficult subject to tackle. In an effort to help both physicians and potential donors, I wrote the script for an educational video called, “Living Kidney Donation: What You Need to Know.” This video is approximately 30 minutes long and addresses the tough issues a donor faces. The American Society of Transplant Surgeons has provided this video to countless physicians and patients.

My colleagues and I are proud of the strides we have made with our Paired Donor Program and realize that there is a long way to go in terms of research and education. Please know that we are committed to and passionate about improving the program every day.

Dr. Arthur Matas, surgical director of the Living-Donor Kidney Program, is a champion of paired exchange transplants. He is a past-president of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons. He co-authored an abstract published by the New England Journal of Medicine entitled, “Long-term consequences of kidney donation.” To read the abstract, please go to http://www.nejm.org.