New Delhi: In a heartwarming medical tale, two patients Wednesday had a successful organ swap transplant after their wives agreed to donate one of their kidneys to each other’s spouses.
The six-hour surgery took place at Fortis Escorts Okhla in Delhi.
The patients — Sultan Dar, 62, from Kashmir, and ex-army officer Vijay Kumar, 52, from Bareilly — suffered from chronic kidney disease and had been on dialysis for the past one and a half years. Both men were looking for suitable donors since their respective spouses’ blood groups didn’t mismatch.
“With luck, both the patients’ spouses were found to be suitable kidney donors and post counselling, the families agreed for a kidney swap transplant,” a press release by Fortis Healthcare stated.
The hospital described the surgery as “a unique kidney swap transplant from diverse geographic, religious and professional backgrounds.”
The statement also mentioned that the operation was conducted after taking necessary medical tests including pre-transplant compatibility testing and HLA typing.
The patients were under the supervision of Dr Sanjeev Gulati, Principal Director, Nephrology and Kidney Transplant. The surgery team also included Dr Ajit Singh Narula, Principal Director, Nephrology and Kidney Transplant, Dr Anil Gulia, Director, Urology and Kidney Transplant, and Dr Paresh Jain, Director, Urology and Kidney transplant.
Gulati explained that the “very rare” swap transplant is one of the options when there is a mismatch between couples. He added that if this particular transplant was not conducted on time, the patients “might have lived” for a maximum of five years.
“However, the larger picture here is the fact that two people who recognised the need and urgency of the transplant, mutually came forward to donate their kidneys to save the lives of their respective spouse’s lives irrespective of the religious and geographical backgrounds,” Gulati praised.
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