ABO-Incompatible Kidney Transplant at K H Patil Hospital, Hulkoti

A Mother’s Donation — Overcoming a Blood-Group Barrier

1. The Case

A 29-year-old woman needed a kidney transplant. Her mother came forward as a donor, but their blood groups were incompatible.

The team needed to assess whether transplantation could proceed with specialised preparation and monitoring.

2. The Challenge: Blood-Group Incompatibility

In an ABO-incompatible kidney transplant, the recipient’s antibodies can react against the donor’s blood group, creating a risk of rejection.

This made the case more complex than a blood-group compatible transplant and required coordinated planning between the surgical and nephrology teams.

3. Specialised Preparation Before Transplantation

The hospital’s account describes the use of desensitisation protocols and immunological monitoring to manage the blood-group barrier.

Preparation and care involved:

• Treatment to manage antibodies associated with blood-group incompatibility.

• Assessment and monitoring before transplantation.

• Coordination between the transplant surgeons, nephrologists, anaesthesia team and supporting staff.

  
  

4. The Procedure: ABO-Incompatible Kidney Transplantation

On 17 December 2025, the team performed K H Patil Hospital’s first ABO-incompatible kidney transplant.

The programme was led by Dr. Avinash Odugoudar, Programme Director and Lead Transplant Surgeon, alongside Dr. Deepak Kurhatti, Programme Co-director and Lead Transplant Physician.

5. The Reported Outcome

According to newspaper reports published after the procedure, both the mother and daughter were stable and recovering under medical supervision.

The recipient also attended the hospital and shared that she was doing well. These reports describe their condition at that time; longer-term follow-up details were not included.

6. What This Case Highlights

This case illustrates how specialised preparation and multidisciplinary care can make transplantation possible for selected patients despite blood-group incompatibility.

It also marked an important development in the hospital’s rural kidney transplant programme, bringing a complex transplant service to Hulkoti, Gadag.