North Columbus News

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Comprehensive Transplant Center has set a new institutional record by conducting a 20-person living kidney donor transplant chain. This achievement involved a synchronized series of 20 surgeries, transforming the lives of ten patients in need of kidney transplants.

The transplant chain took place over two days, with five donor and five recipient surgeries each day. Healthy kidneys from ten donors were transplanted into ten recipients who might have otherwise faced lengthy waits for suitable organs.

"This is one of the country’s largest single institution living kidney donor transplant chains completed in one week," said Kenneth Washburn, MD, executive director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center and director of the Division of Transplantation Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. "Big chains like this one allow us to help a large number of patients in a short period of time. The resources needed to complete an event such as this is a testament to the commitment of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center to enhancing and extending patient’s lives through organ transplantation."

Paired kidney donation involves matching incompatible donor/recipient pairs with other similar pairs to form a chain, ensuring each recipient receives a compatible organ. The process begins with an altruistic non-directed donor and ends with a recipient on the transplant waitlist.

Planning for this chain began in October. After identifying donors and recipients, coordinators worked closely with them to maintain the integrity of the chain. Even minor health changes could disrupt the exchange.

Amer Rajab, MD, PhD, surgical director of kidney transplantation at Ohio State College of Medicine, led the 10-way transplant chain and performed six donor surgeries. "People with kidney failure can live for a long time on dialysis, but the treatment can be hard on the body and limit quality of life," Rajab stated. "Once the organ transplant is complete and the new kidney starts working, time and time again our patients tell me how good they feel. This is thanks to our donors, our heroes."

Other surgeons involved in this significant undertaking included Washburn; Musab Alebrahim, MD; Ashley Limkemann, MD; Sai Rithin Punjala, MBBS; Austin Schenk, MD, PhD; and Navdeep Singh, MBBS.

According to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, there are currently 104,840 people on the national transplant waitlist with 90,506 needing kidneys. Of these individuals, 2,079 reside in Ohio. This recent 10-way transplant chain is considered one of the largest conducted by a single institution nationwide.

"This kidney chain removed ten patients from the transplant waitlist which will hopefully shorten the wait for others," Rajab remarked. "More living kidney donors are needed so we can help additional people. Living donation is safe and our donors go on to live very full lives."

Ohio State's Comprehensive Transplant Center remains one of America's busiest kidney transplant centers since its establishment in 1967 having performed over 8,500 transplants.