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Vikas Sharma. Dated: 5/18/2018 7:13:32 AM

ABO incompatible transplants giving new lease of life to many patients: Prof (Dr) Mukut Minz
Continuing our weekly feature, Talk Show, we are here today again with the same personality, Prof (Dr) Mukut Minz (Director - Transplant Surgery), at fortis Hospital, Mohali. He spoke about Kidney Transplant as the ideal treatment for patients suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).
Prof (Dr) Mukut Minz, who has recently been conferred with the prestigious Padma Shree, explained that kidney transplant is the treatment of choice in chronic kidney disease. He has an experience of more than 35 years in the field of kidney transplant during which he has performed around 3,500 kidney transplants.
Vikas Sharma
VS: ABO, What is this word stands for in kidney transplantation.
MM: ABO Incompatible Transplant, a new technique to transplant kidney from different blood groups, has also been successfully performed at the hospital. The life of a person undergoes a sea-change once he or she undergoes kidney transplant. Imagine the relief of somebody going to hospital for dialysis three times a week after getting a kidney transplant. Patients on dialysis are prone to get multiple infections like hepatitis B and C and hence one should get a kidney transplant as early as possible.
Kidney transplant is a procedure where a healthy kidney is transplanted from one person, to the affected person’s body. This new kidney will perform the functions of both the failed kidneys. Potential donors are carefully evaluated to ensure that the donor is fit for surgery and has no disease which brings undue risk or likelihood of a poor outcome for either the donor or recipient.
VS: What is special in this technique?
MM: The major barrier to organ transplantation between genetically non-identical patients lay in the recipient and the immune system, which would treat a transplanted kidney as a non-self and reject it. Thus, having medications to suppress the immune system is essential. With advances in the field of immunology and transplant medicine, new and effective drugs are now available with which one can expect excellent results of kidney transplant. If carefully selected for transplant, the patients usually do well and can go home within one week of surgery.
This has changed with the latest know-how and advanced technology. We have been successfully carrying out ABO incompatible transplants at our hospital, giving new lease of life to many patients.
Prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) or Kidney Failure in India has increased manifolds in the past few years. This is mainly due to lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. It is believed that at present 17 in every 100 people suffer from some form of kidney disease.
Several Indian population-based studies in the past estimated that 150-230 persons suffer from End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) in every million people, and about 2,20,000 - 2,75,000 new patients need either dialysis or kidney transplant every year.
But the fact is that only about 18,000 –20,000 patients (10% of new ESKD cases) in India have access to such treatment modalities. Over 90% of patients requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) in India die because of inability to afford care, and even in those who do start RRT, 60% stop for financial reasons.