A triple transplant may help a willing donor and patient who do not match connect with other willing donors and patients who are compatible. For example, Joy Hindle could not donate her kidney to her brother Paul McSorley but was able to donate a kidney to a different patient, while her brother received a kidney from a different donor. This kidney exchange involved six participants and took place at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
Although multipatient swaps account for only a small percentage of kidney transplants, a national database that links patients with compatible donors may increase its use. The database includes 77 medical institutions and transplant programs across the country.
The number of patients who received kidneys through these types of exchanges has increased from 268 in 2009 to 421 in 2010. Some proponents estimate the database, which connected its first patients and donors in December, could increase this number to more than 2,000.
Read the Baltimore Sun report on kidney transplants.
Related Articles on Organ Transplants:
Florida’s Shands Jacksonville Kidney Transplant Program Was Failing During Shutdown
Study: Time of Day May Not Affect Patient Survival Rate for Heart, Lung Transplants
UPMC Surgeon, Nurse Disciplined for Transplanting Kidney From Donor With Hepatitis C
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