 |
| UCLA Medical Center Performs Its First Living Donor Kidney “Swap” | |||
| Date: 09/25/2007 Contact: Enrique Rivero (erivero@mednet.ucla.edu) Phone: 310-794-2273 |
|||
In a twist to the story, Kazuyuki Furuya was offered a deceased donor kidney a few weeks before the exchange was to take place, so Tiffany would not have had to donate her kidney. But she insisted on going through with the procedure so the deceased donor kidney would remain available to help another person who did not have a live donor. Thus, three people were untethered from dialysis machines — and given an improved quality of life. UCLA has one of the world's most active kidney transplant programs and has introduced a number of innovations, including the first paired kidney donation program in Southern California, said Dr. Albin Gritsch, associate professor of urology and surgical director of the kidney transplantation program. "We hope that this procedure will improve the availability of organs for thousands of patients with end-stage renal disease who would benefit from a transplant," he said. Very few paired kidney donations have been performed at U.S. transplant centers. Congress is now considering legislation regarding paired donations, and Medicare pays for the procedure. "The profession has been slow to adopt 'kidney swap' procedures, but we are hopeful that our program will help encourage other transplant centers to participate, which will greatly help expand the potential donor pool," said Dr. Jeffrey Veale, an assistant professor of urology specializing in renal transplantation at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Many people would like to give a kidney to a loved one but are often disappointed when they learn they are not a match. The UCLA program offers a viable option for patients which will also help another family. "The paired donation procedure permits donors who would otherwise be unable to help their loved one to do so in a manner that helps other people as well," said Dr. Gabriel Danovitch, professor of medicine in the UCLA Division of Nephrology and medical director of the UCLA kidney and pancreas transplantation program. (Editors: B-roll footage of donors meeting their recipients for the first time after surgery and video interviews with the transplant team are available. The footage can also be viewed at http://streaming.uclahealth.org/kidneyswapucla using Windows Media.) -UCLA- ER414 |
