First Crossover Kidney Transplantation In Germany

In a major development in Germany since the 2003,ruling by the Federal Social Court laying the way for the recent introduction of crossover transplantation, German surgeons have performed a cross over transplantation very recently in Hamburg and Essen, Germany after a court ruling making the procedure legal in certain circumstances.

In a cross over transplantation a healthy person in one couple donates his or her kidney to the ill person in another couple, in exchange for a kidney from the recipient’s healthy spouse.

The Supreme court ruling related to an earlier incident in 1999, when a couple from Germany and a transplant surgeon from Freiburg, Germany, went to a transplantation center in Basel, Switzerland, to perform a kidney exchange with a Swiss couple. Switzerland has no legal obstacles to crossover transplantation and a tradition of performing such operations.

Some countries, such as Switzerland and Romania, allows such practice when a healthy partner in a couple is unable to donate his or her kidney to the spouse, either because of blood group incompatibility or the potential recipient’s sensitization to certain antibodies.

However in Germany this practice was considered illegal under the German transplantation law of 1997. To prevent trade in human organs the German law as anywhere, allows transplantation only between close relatives or between people who have a close relationship, such as a longstanding friendship.

Every arrangement in which one person offers a kidney to another has to be scrutinized by an independent committee to ensure that 'Trusting relationships between the couples have to be established' no economic incentives are offered.

In Germany pressure is mounting on the doctors and patients because of the shortage of donor kidneys as anywhere else in the world .The alternatives such as cross over are considered. Only 20% out of about 10,000 patients are awaiting a kidney, from cadavers and as a consequence, living donation has increased to about 20% of the total a year (almost 500 transplantations).

In addition, because of the problem of incompatible blood groups between living donor and recipient, some transplantation centers also offer plasmapheresis, which can eliminate antibodies efficiently but produces extra costs.

Netherlands has had a very active program since 2004 but has slightly different arrangements to those in Germany. All kidneys are offered and taken from a pool. Recipients and donors can stay anonymous, which is generally preferred by the participants.

Though there are variations in cross over in different countries i.e., Netherlands for instance is having an active program, in which recipients and donors can stay anonymous, which is generally preferred by the participants unlike in Germany and Netherlands has had a very active program since 2004 but has slightly different arrangements to those in Germany. All kidneys are offered and taken from a pool. Recipients and donors can stay anonymous, which is generally preferred by the participants.

Netherlands has had a very active program since 2004 but has slightly different arrangements to those in Germany. All kidneys are offered and taken from a pool. Recipients and donors can stay anonymous, which is generally preferred by the participants. Netherlands has had a very active program since 2004 but has slightly different arrangements to those in Germany. All kidneys are offered and taken from a pool. Recipients and donors can stay anonymous, which is generally preferred by the participants.

Netherlands has had a very active program since 2004 but has slightly different arrangements to those in Germany. All kidneys are offered and taken from a pool. Recipients and donors can stay anonymous, which is generally preferred by the participants.

Will the adoption of this practice of cross in European countries such as Switzerland, Romania, and Holland, be an ideal answer for shortage of Organs?

Medindia on Kidney:

Acute Renal Failure (ARF) is the sudden loss of kidney function. It occurs when the kidneys stop working over a period of hours, days, or in some cases, weeks. It is also referred clinically as, An acute increase of the serum creatinine level from baseline (i.e., an increase of at least 0.5 mg/dl) and the urine output is less than 400 ml per day (oliguria), but it is not used strictly for ARF.