COLUMBUS — The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Comprehensive Transplant Center performed 20 surgeries over two days, giving the 10 recipients a new lease on life.
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People on the kidney transplant list can often wait years for a match. Donor transplant chains work by pairing a person in need of a kidney who has a living donor that is not a compatible match with another donor/recipient pair so the recipient receives a compatible organ.
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The Wexner Medical Center was able to transplant 10 healthy kidneys to 10 people in need of a kidney, Ohio State says.
“This is one of the country’s largest single institution living kidney donor transplant chains completed in one week,” said Kenneth Washburn, MD, executive director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center and director of the Division of Transplantation Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. “Big chains like this one allow us to help a large number of patients in a short period of time. The resources needed to complete an event such as this is a testament to the commitment of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center to enhancing and extending patient’s lives through organ transplantation.”
This 20 person transplant chain has been in the works since October, according to Ohio State.
“People with kidney failure can live for a long time on dialysis, but the treatment can be hard on the body and limit quality of life,” Amer Rajab, MD, PhD, surgical director of kidney transplantation and clinical professor of surgery at Ohio State College of Medicine said. “Once the organ transplant is complete and the new kidney starts working, time and time again our patients tell me how good they feel. This is thanks to our donors, our heroes.”
This transplant chain is believed to be one of the largest single institution chains in the nation.
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