World first as couples celebrate kidney swap

A HUSBAND and wife spoke of their joy yesterday after surgeons performed the first kidney swap between two couples.

The landmark transplants are the first to be performed on living people who do not know each other.

Roma Horrell, 57, from Cambridgeshire, and a man from Scotland received kidneys from each other’s partners in the first ever paired kidney swap.

Their own partners had hoped to donate their kidneys but were not a suitable match.

Mrs Horrell received a kidney from the Scottish man’s wife during surgery at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge on July 4.

Just a few hours later, the Scot underwent an operation at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary to receive a kidney from Mrs Horrell’s husband Peter, 55.

The Scottish couple are from Lothian but do not wish to be named.

Until now, living donor transplants have occurred only between relatives or people with a close emotional relationship, such as couples living together.

But a change in the rules last year led the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) to allow strangers to donate to each other.

The new type of “swap” transplant will usually be of kidneys, because it is difficult or impossible to use other types of organs without harming the live donor.

Experts hope up to 200 more kidney patients a year could benefit from this kind of transplant in the future.

Mrs Horrell said that the operation had changed her life.

“Everything has improved enormously,” she said. “I can eat what I want, I can enjoy cooking, we can go on holiday. Life is normal again. I feel as though I’ve got hope for the future.”

Adrian McNeil, chief executive of the HTA, said: “This country has reached a milestone in how organs are donated.

“I firmly believe that our announcement today paves the way for a new era in organ donation.

“We hope this novel way of matching suitable organ donors will save many more lives in future.

“We want more people to understand that this form of donation exists and works, so that many more people can benefit.”

Most organs are donated from people who have died but more transplants are now being carried out using living donors.

Last year, there were 698 living donor transplants, of which 690 involved kidneys. There were a further 1,440 kidney transplants involving dead donors. At present, 6,487 people are on the British waiting list for a kidney transplant.

About one in three people who opt to be a living donor are not a suitable match for their loved one.

It is thought that these people could enter the new “pooling” scheme with other couples to find a tissue and blood type match.

Paired donation transplants have previously been carried out in parts of the US and Holland.