In rare case, man receives kidneys, liver from single donor

In a rare case, the kidneys and liver of a 21-year-old brain-dead patient were transplanted into a 59-year-old man at the Apollo Hospitals here recently.

Transplanting a person’s multiple organs into a single recipient is unusual, doctors say.

The donor had been declared brain-dead after he met with a road accident in Jalahalli earlier this month. It is the same patient whose heart was sent from M S Ramaiah Hospital to be transplanted into a recipient at BGS Hospital on January 3.

It took close monitoring by a team of expert doctors at Apollo Hospitals to perform the multiple organ transplant. After learning that the young man’s family was willing to donate his organs, a team of five surgeons, three anaesthetists and other supporting staff began the procedure.

A specialist at the hospital said the recipient had been waiting for a transplant for over two years now.

 “It was in December 2013 that the patient got registered. He had been on dialysis for long. When we found a suitable donor earlier this month, we went ahead with the transplant,” he added.

Manjula K U, chief transplant co-ordinator, Zonal Coordination Committee of Karnataka for Transplantation, said it was unusual that a single person was a recipient of two organs. “More so because it is from the same donor,” she told Deccan Herald.

Challenges at every step

Across India, only a handful of people may await and undergo multiple organ transplant, according to Dr Mahesh Gopa Setty, Transplant Surgeon, Apollo Hospitals.
The recipient had Hepatitis C and was diabetic. As a result, his kidneys and liver had been damaged. He was on dialysis for over four years. “The transplant was successful and he is doing well. Unlike in the past, he is able to lead a normal life,” Dr Setty said.

The surgery lasted for over 16 hours (including the organ retrieval time). The liver was transplanted first and then the kidneys. “There were challenges at every step. Each expert in the team gave his best. We had to find the right donor. The next challenge was to have him on dialysis even during the transplant,” he added.

Dr Setty continued, “There is a tendency to bleed severely when the liver has to be transplanted. Also, the spleen enlarges and there is water collection in the abdomen. This calls for a need for dedicated monitoring. The recipient is still on immunosuppressants but doing well.”