Living donor kidney exchange for both ABO-incompatible and crossmatch positive donor-recipient combinations.
BACKGROUND
Strategies to decrease the wait time for kidney transplantation include the use of living donor kidneys. However, it is not always possible to donate directly, due to ABO blood type incompatibility or a positive crossmatch. Therefore, other options were explored, including a program for living donor kidney exchange.


METHODS
All Dutch kidney transplantation centers agreed on a common donor kidney exchange protocol. The Dutch Transplantation Foundation is responsible for the allocation, crossmatches are centrally performed, and exchanges take place on an anonymous basis. Donors travel to the recipient centers. Surgical procedures are simultaneously scheduled.


RESULTS
From January 2004, we registered in total 116 combinations consisting of blood type-incompatible pairs (n = 62) and positive crossmatch pairs (n = 54). In eight match procedures we created 58 new donor-recipient combinations with negative crossmatches, including six triplets and 20 doublets. It proved to be significantly (P = .0014) less difficult to find a solution for the crossmatch-positive combinations than for the blood type-incompatible combinations (67% vs 35%).


CONCLUSIONS
The Dutch national living donor kidney exchange program resulted in a 50% success rate. Combining blood type-incompatible and crossmatch-positive donor-recipient pairs in one program is a realistic option for all blood type combinations.
de Klerk
M
M
Department of Internal Medicine-Transplantation, Erasmus MC, University Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. marry.deklerk@erasmusmc.nl
Haase-Kromwijk
B J J M
BJ
Claas
F H J
FH
Witvliet
M
M
Weimar
W
W
D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D001787:Blood Group Incompatibility; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D019520:Living Donors; D009426:Netherlands; D014019:Tissue Donors; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000379:methods*
D000017:ABO Blood-Group System