Those in need of a kidney transplant may no longer have to wait for a compatible donor that may never come.
A huge new discovery by scientists could revolutionize how and when kidney transplants are done in the future.
A study found that kidney disease patients may live much longer if they get a kidney transplant from an incompatible living donor than if they wait for a good match, according to a Johns Hopkins University statement.
It could provide an option for kidney transplants who desperately need a kidney in order to survive.
Many patients have immune system antibodies that attack a donor organ if it is put in. This is especially common in cases of people who have had a prior kidney transplant, which makes finding a compatible donor almost impossible.
However, instead of waiting for a kidney that is compatible to the donor, which may not come in time, there’s the possibilites of using desensitization therapies to reduce the risk that the body’s immune system will attack the donor organ.
The approach has been around for 15 years, but there wasn’t any evidence of long-term benefits until now. Lead researcher Dr. Dorry Segev and a team of scientists found that three quarters of patients who got a kidney from an incompatible living donor were still alive after eight years.
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