The saying by Vietnamese Proverb, brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet, got a new meaning for Chervon Meyer when her brother Joshua donated his kidney despite not having one blood type. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meyer, who has been living with kidney failure for the past 10 years, underwent the ABO-incompatible transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital last month (January) through the Glycosorb ABO medical device. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an ABO-incompatible transplant, the blood types of the donor and the recipient aren\u2019t compatible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The device was developed to remove the problem of ABO incompatibility by specifically reducing the level of anti-A\/B antibodies in the recipient\u2019s plasma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first ABO-incompatible transplant performed with Glycosorb ABO in Sweden in 2001. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During a press briefing held at the hospital this morning (20 February) medical staff explained that the procedure was the first for the continent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Zunaid Barday, a Nephrologist at the hospital, says the cause of the ABO-incompatibility is the anti-A and\/or the anti-B antibodies in the recipient\u2019s plasma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He says these antibodies would immediately cause a rejection of the new organ and prevent a successful transplant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n