KIDNEY REGISTRY TO LINK 'INCOMPATIBLE' MATCHES

Staff Reporter of the Sun | December 18, 2007

A New York-based kidney registry has launched an online network to link donors and patients who are "incompatible" matches.

The National Kidney Registry's "Best Match" network will facilitate transplantation involving live donors and patients who do not necessarily have the same blood or tissue types. In kidney transplantation, it is preferable to find individuals with matching tissue types, although it is possible to transplant "incompatible" kidneys if the organ is cleaned to remove the donor's antibodies.

So far, Best Match has identified 12 transplants that could take place, and seven are tentatively scheduled for 2008, according to the registry's founder, Garet Hil. There are currently 6,163 individuals in New York who are waiting for a kidney, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

Mr. Hil launched the registry in September when his daughter, now 11, needed a kidney. She received one from a cousin, and today "she's doing great."

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esolomont@nysun.com

Link to article:

http://www.nysun.com/new-york/roosevelt-offering-luxury-for-new-mothers/68278/