Paired kidney transplants to start in the United Kingdom

摘要

A new type of "paired" or "pooled" kidney transplant that is expected to help 40 or 50 patients a year in the United Kingdom will be allowed to go ahead from next September, the Human Tissue Authority announced this week. Patients with a friend or relative prepared to donate a kidney but whose tissue is found to be incompatible will be able to be paired with another couple in the same situation. If the donor in each couple is a match for the patient in the other, the transplant could go ahead. For a pooled donation, there would be a chain of several pairs.