Otherwise, naturally occurring antibodies to the different blood type would trigger the immune system to destroy the transplanted kidney. This decreases the availability of kidneys from living donors. The number of available organs isn t going up anywhere near as fast as the number of people who need a transplant. ABO-incompatible kidney transplants will increase the availability of living donor organs and will be a very important step in helping our patients who are in renal failure. The patient then receives an infusion of donor-type plasma serum that includes many of the regular antibodies needed for a functioning immune system.
Plasmapheresis is performed four times in the week prior to transplant.
ABO-incompatible kidney transplants are common in Japan, but rare elsewhere in the world. In addition to the significant patient benefits of this procedure, Mayo Clinic researchers hope to gain knowledge about transplants that could lead to further advancements. The primary obstacle to xenotransplantation is a type of antibody-mediated organ rejection that is similar to that seen in ABO incompatibility. We hope to use our experiences with ABO-incompatible kidney transplants to further our knowledge about xenotransplantation, a transplant option that we feel is the future of organ donation.