Rare Nine-Way Kidney Transplant Performed Between Two San Francisco Hospitals

A rare nine-way kidney transplant chain was completed on Friday between two San Francisco hospitals. The transplants began on Thursday and consisted of a 36-hour chain of continuous surgeries involving 18 surgeries in total. Doctors say the rare chain of transplant surgeries was performed between two San Francisco hospitals and is being considered as the “longest kidney transplant chain performed in one city” in that period of time.

Business Insider reports that the kidney transplant chain was performed between University of California and California Pacific Medical Center. The kidney transplants involved nine kidney donors and nine kidney recipients. According to the report, once a transplant was removed from the donor, the kidney was rushed two miles away to the awaiting hospital. So far, doctors say all the transplants were a success and that all patients are doing fine.

The chain was started with Reid Moran-Haywood, a donor. Doctors at the UCSF removed Reid’s kidney and carefully transported it to a recipient at California Pacific Medical Center. Reid says that a friend was in need of a kidney, but he was not a match. Though he was not able to donate a kidney to his friend, he decided to donate the organ anyway and offered it up to a stranger.

According to WTSP, the donors included a husband and wife pair who were not kidney matches. The husband had offered his kidney to his wife but was not a match. Therefore, he offered to donate his kidney to a stranger in exchange for his wife to be paired with a compatible donor.

With the nine-way kidney transplant chain a success, doctors at the two San Francisco hospitals are hoping their efforts will spark a working model for the nation. The doctors note that over 7,000 patients are waiting for kidneys in San Francisco alone. Dr. Robert Osorio, director of transplantation at CPMC, says that each time they remove a patient off the list, someone else gets to move up the waiting list.

“And by getting those patients off the list, we’re giving other patients an opportunity to go up the list.”

Similarly, a Hooters waitress from Georgia recently donated a kidney to a long-time customer after learning he had lost both kidneys to cancer. The heroic waitress says that the surgery was a “success” and that the pair were a “perfect match.”

What do you think of the nine-way kidney transplant marathon?

[Image Credit: Getty Images/ Christopher Furlong]