Rare liver transplant saves lives of two Uzbek nationals

New Delhi, July 29

A team of doctors at a hospital here has successfully performed a rare two-way liver transplant, granting a new life to two foreign nationals hailing from Uzbekistan.

Overcoming the challenges of ABO incompatibility, the medical team, devised an innovative solution where willing donors exchanged organs to match the blood groups of the recipients.

The medical team conducted four simultaneous surgeries on June 9, saving the lives of both 41-year-old Gulyam and 51-year-old Matlubakhon.

The intricacy of the situation stemmed from the challenging ABO incompatibility between the patients and their designated donors.

While Gulyam's blood group was B, his son, who volunteered to donate, had blood group A. Similarly, Matlubakhon, who also required an urgent transplant, had blood group A, while her sister's blood group was B.

ABO-incompatible transplants, where the blood type of the donor and recipient are not compatible have a high rate of rejection by the recipient's body, and this apparent mismatch of blood groups poses a significant obstacle to the success of liver transplants.

The immune system recognises the transplanted organ as foreign and launches an immune response which leads to a potential rejection of the liver and endangers the life of the recipient.

"This remarkable swap liver transplant offered an extraordinary chance for a cure to both recipients who were in dire need of compatible livers. After gaining approval from both families and securing necessary clearances from the authorisation committee, our medical team conducted all four surgeries simultaneously," said Abhideep Chaudhary, who led the medical team.

Chaudhary, who is also the Vice Chairman and HOD, HPB Surgery, and Liver Transplantation, BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital, added: "The swap transplant is indeed a challenging and complex procedure both medically as well as logistically, the dedication and skill demonstrated by our medical team comprising of 20 doctors have played a pivotal role in achieving the remarkable result."