South Africa’s Groote Schuur Hospital performs Africa’s first successful incompatible kidney transplant

By Hans Ngala (with ancillary details from EWN)

Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, SA has become the first medical facility on the African continent to perform an incompatible kidney transplant.

In January, 35-year-old Chervon Meyer’s brother donated one of his kidneys to save his sister’s life, despite him having a different blood type. Meyer’s life was forever changed when her pregnancy in 2013 ended in a stillbirth.

Her kidneys also failed during this time, and she was admitted to Groote Schuur Hospital’s dialysis programme.

“I have been on dialysis for ten years and it felt like, when is the light ever coming my way?”

For patients like Meyer and hundreds of others who were on the kidney transplantation list for many years, the Glycosorb device offered them an opportunity to also get a successful transplant.

“I can dream. I couldn’t dream before because I had to be at hospital three times a week. No one wanted to give me a job.

“Finally, they found this new medicine for me that I could finally be able to live a normal life. I can get a job… I can go and work for my children… I can do anything. Nothing is stopping me.”

Medical experts said that more than 60 scientific papers were published on the device that showed excellent data on short and long-term outcomes for transplant recipients.

Since its first rollout in 2001, it was used in 29 countries.