AIIMS Raipur performs its first Swap Kidney Transplant: What is it?

India Today

24-04-2025

Two men from Bilaspur, both in their early 40s and battling end-stage kidney disease, recently underwent a life-saving transplant at AIIMS Raipur, but not the usual kind.In a first-of-its-kind surgery for the state, and a milestone for the institute, the doctors performed a Swap Kidney Transplant, a complex procedure that matched each man with the other's donor wife, overcoming blood group incompatibility.advertisementWith this feat, AIIMS Raipur has become the first government hospital in Chhattisgarh and the first among the newer AIIMS institutions to successfully carry out a swap transplant - also known as Kidney Paired Donation (KPD).
The transplant was performed on March 15 and involved a team of specialist nephrologists, surgeons, anaesthesiologists and transplant coordinators.All four individuals, the two recipients and their spouses who stepped forward as donors, are recovering well in the Transplant ICU.
India's top transplant body, the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), is pushing to make such transplants more accessible across states. ()
advertisementThe transplant team for the recent swap surgery included Dr Vinay Rathore (transplant physician), Dr Amit R Sharma, Dr Deepak Biswal, Dr Satyadeo Sharma (surgeons), along with Dr Subrat Singha, Dr Mayank, Dr Jitendra and Dr Sarita Ramchandani from the anaesthesia department, and transplant coordinators and nursing staff.WHAT IS A SWAP KIDNEY TRANSPLANT?A Swap Kidney Transplant is an option when a patient has a willing donor who is incompatible either due to blood group mismatch or the presence of antibodies.Instead of rejecting the possibility of a transplant, the pair is matched with another patient-donor duo in a similar situation and the donors are swapped.It ensures that both patients receive compatible kidneys.
A Swap Kidney Transplant is an option when a patient has a willing donor who is incompatible to swap with another patient-donor duo due to compatibility. (Photo: PIB)
The patients at AIIMS Raipur had been on dialysis for nearly three years. One pair had a B+ donor and an O+ recipient, while the other had the reverse — O+ donor and B+ recipient.advertisementThe swap allowed for compatible transplants, without the need for a deceased donor.This is especially significant because swap transplants can increase transplant rates in the country by up to 15%, a crucial development since India faces a shortage of organ donors.India's top transplant body, the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), is pushing to make such transplants more accessible across states.AIIMS Raipur is also an emerging leader in kidney transplantation in Chhattisgarh. In the last two years, it has been the first among the newer AIIMS to perform deceased donor organ transplants, including paediatric kidney transplants - another first for the state.So far, the hospital has conducted 54 kidney transplants. In these, 95 out of every 100 cases, the new kidney that was transplanted is still working well after the surgery with a 97% patient survival rate.Six deceased donors have donated their organs in the last two years.