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Successful Blood Group Incompatible Kidney Donation

St. Paul’s Hospital is the first transplant centre in British Columbia to perform blood group incompatible kidney transplants from a living donor. Historically, transplants have not been done unless there is blood group compatibility between the living donor and recipient because the recipient’s immune system would reject the kidney in a very short period of time.

Now, in certain cases, by pre-treating patients with a combination of medications and plasmapheresis it is possible to successfully transplant people from donors who are of a different blood type with a very reduced chance of rejection. This opens the possibility for people who previously could not donate a kidney to their family member or friend with kidney disease to do so successfully.

CTV news clip on this story coming soon.