The revolutionary procedure could reduce operation waiting times (Picture: File)

Kidney transplant patients are being flushed out so that they can receive organs from donors with incompatible blood groups.

Hundreds suffering renal problems could have their waiting time for a life-saving operation reduced thanks to the revolutionary procedure.

Tracy West is one of only a few to have had an ABO-incompatible transplantation in which antibodies are removed from plasma and replaced with proteins and fluid.

The 51-year-old’s father, Michael, successfully gave her one his kidneys, despite them not having the same blood type.


‘About seven years ago I was suffering from migraines, and my blood pressure was sky high,’ said Ms West, of Port Solent, Hampshire.



‘Hospital tests revealed I had end stage renal failure. I was stunned.’

However, her father read about ABOi and called Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth to see if they would carry out the operation.

Three plasma exchanges later and Ms West had received the organ.

‘I have felt incredible since the operation. There are so many people waiting for kidneys and this procedure could help so many people,’ she said.

Only a handful of British hospitals can perform ABOi but Dr Jasna Macanovic, consultant nephrologist at Queen Alexandra, hopes more donors will sign up.

‘The more experience we gain from this, the more people we can help,’ she said.