Can I donate or receive a kidney to/from someone with a different blood type?
Sometimes blood can be specially treated to allow recipients to get a kidney from a living donor who has an incompatible or non-matching blood group. To prevent immediate rejection of the kidney, the recipient undergoes plasmapherisis or a plasma exchange treatment before and after the transplant to remove harmful antibodies from the blood. Antibodies are part of the immune system. They are proteins produced by white blood cells to fight infections. This type of live donation is being used on a limited basis in some Australian hospitals. Speak to your nephrologist for more information. See Live Donation and Life with a single kidney.
