Spain has realized a chain of six kidney transplants at different times. It has been carried out for the first time the chain of kidney transplants, in live, longer made so far in our country, which has participated in a donor 'Samaritan' and with the peculiarity that the operations have been performed on three different days.
The chain, which involved five donor-recipient pairs incompatible, is the fifth to be performed since the program began with an altruistic donor who is not personal, family or any of romantically linked receptors, but it is a young person with a "high social commitment", as reported by the National Transplant Organization (ONT), in a statement. The cycle has been closed by a recipient of the waiting list for deceased donor.
The chain, which has been conducted in three phases, began in early March and ended in early April and, both donors and recipients, have already been discharged. It has involved hospitals in four regions: the “12 October” and “Ramón y Cajal”, in Madrid, in Bilbao “Cruces”, “Puerta del Mar” in Cádiz and in Barcelona “Clinic”.
To achieve this series of linked transplants, the ONT has been used for the first time a 'donor bridge', a figure which was approved by the Commission Transplant of the Interregional Council of Health in 2013. This means that the donor couple from a receiver, who received its transplant is willing to stay on hold to perform their donation, so that in that time a larger number of transplants is facilitated.
Until now, this type of transplants have been performed simultaneously in time, to avoid chain disruptions, that prevented reach more patients. For the ONT, make interventions at different days has increased the number of patients who can benefit from this new form, incorporating new partners donor / recipient to the chain.
The director of the ONT, Rafael Matesanz, explained to RTVE.es that, previously, chains transplant with two and three links were made on the same day due to the Spanish legislation, which admits regret making the donation "to the time of entry in surgery", thus giving the figure of 'bridge', willing to donate even if its partner has already received the organ, that needed a special importance.
As well, he has indicated that it is especially in the U.S. where longer chains are made of up to 15 links, using this figure of donor 'bridge'. Thus, the ONT has failed to do simultaneous transplants and made within 15 days of each other.
The chain of kidney transplants from living donors is a form of crossed renal transplant, which NTO launched in 2009.
This type of transplant, based on the exchange of organs from living donors between two or more partners, aims to offer patients with chronic renal failure the possibility of receiving a graft through the generosity of its partner, when it does not support.
For the implementation of this program, the ONT has developed the National Register of donor-recipient partners and a software application that allows to speed up the possibilities of exchange between partners registry. The ONT clarifies that patients enrolled in this program are still on the waiting list for deceased donor.
Several times a year, the possible combinations among the candidates are evaluated, in order to get new compatible partners. So in the coming days, the ONT perform a new assessment of possible exchanges between couples.
Since 2009, a total of 293 patients and their donors have been included at some point in this record. And of them, to April 30, were active 104 partners of earrings near analysis to assess possible new combinations.
The data of the ONT confirm the increased renal transplantation crossed in our country, since 77 patients have benefited from this therapy and represents 11% of all kidney transplants in live. Of the 382 living donor kidney transplants, that were made in Spain in 2013, 41 were crossed.
From here, I want to congratulate to the ONT, cause of such important work. And I hope that they can continue helping many people, all over the world.
Till soon, kind regards,
Luis.
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