80 physicians attend CME on kidney transplant at Khaniyara

Dharamsala, September 2, 2018: A continue medical education (CME) on ‘ABO kidney transplant’ was held at a Khaniyara hotel near here last night. Around 80 physicians took part in the CME, which was organized by Department of Renal Sciences, Ivy Hospital, Mohali in association of IMA, Dharamsala. Speaking during occasion, Dr.Raka Kasuhal, chief nephrologist and renal transplant physician, said that it is estimated that more than 3-lakh people are suffering with end-stage kidney ailments, despite that only ten thousand transplantations are taking place. She informed further, the major hurdles are availability of a suitable healthy donor in the family. About 30-40 per cent of kidney failure patients do not get transplant due to blood group mismatch in the family. Such kidney transplantation were once considered impossible or highly risky due to hyper-acute rejection, by which the transplanted organ becomes non-functional as it will be rejected by the antibodies, she remarked. Dr.Avinash Srivastava, renal transplant surgeon said that ABO (A, B, AB, O blood groups) Incompatible Kidney Transplant is a boon to such patients as it may reduce the waiting time for transplants in them. Dr Srivastava said further that we have been performing ABO incompatible transplants successfully for the last 3 years. To perform such transplants, medical treatment is given to lower antibody levels in the blood and reduce risk of donor kidney rejection. This treatment includes a process of removing anti-bodies from the blood (plasmapheresis), and prescribing medications that protect the new kidney from antibodies, he asserted. The results of such ABO incompatible transplants are the same as of normal kidney transplant with about 93-95 % kidneys working by the end of first year, maintained Dr Srivastava. Ivy Hospital, Mohali is one of the very few select centers in North India where such highly advanced treatment is available.