‘Double matching’ blood for kidney transplant patients to be rolled out

Getty/Pijitra Phomkham

By Sarah Lowden

Kidney transplant patients are to get ‘double matched’ blood to reduce the risk of organ rejection.

The programme, which has been successfully piloted, will see all patients having their blood matched as closely as possible with donors not just for red blood cells but also for white blood cell type (human leukocyte antigen).

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said this would potentially prevent 100 kidney transplants being rejected each year.

A specialist double blood matching programme has been piloted at Hammersmith Hospital and the Royal Free, in London.

NHSBT is now spending £1.37 million to roll out the programme across England. It will also work with partner blood services in the other UK nations to provide blood.

Programme lead, Dr Colin Brown, from NHSBT and a consultant clinical scientist, said: “By providing a new service to the wider NHS where we double match blood for white cells as well as red cells, we can reduce kidney rejection, and help stop so many people waiting many years for a match or even dying before they receive one.”