Sister's gift a perfect match for twin in need of transplant
Contact: Patty Holiday (513) 585-7200 08/21/2000
Cincinnati--For the first time in nearly 25 years, a transplant recipient at The University Hospital received a kidney that was a perfect genetic match. This means the recipient will not need anti-rejection drugs. Twenty-year-old Kristy Congleton, a senior at the University of Kentucky, received a kidney from her identical twin, Kelly, on Thursday, August 10, four months to the day after she entered the hospital with end stage kidney failure.
When Kristy was three weeks old she suffered from acute kidney failure. Since that time she has lived with only 40 percent function of both kidneys. In January, Kristy began experiencing severe joint pain and muscle twitching. Doctors soon diagnosed her with end stage kidney failure, and in April, Kristy began dialysis. Although the dialysis sustained Kristy's kidney function, she needed a transplant to return to a healthy lifestyle.
"This is an exceptionally rare situation because the kidney was a perfect genetic match. Siblings who are not twins have a 25 percent chance of inheriting the same tissue type, but there is still a fair chance of rejection, and the recipient must take immunosuppressant medications," says Roy First, M.D., director, section of transplantation, division of nephrology at The University Hospital. "Thanks to her sister, Kristy will be able to live a normal, healthy life with her new kidney and will not need anti-rejection drugs, which is rare."
The donor's surgery was performed by Michael Hanaway, M.D.; the recipient's surgery was performed by Joseph Buell, M.D. Both are transplant surgeons at The University Hospital and assistant professors of surgery at the UC College of Medicine.
Kristy is currently majoring in Early Childhood Development at the University of Kentucky. Her sister Kelly, also a senior at the University of Kentucky, is majoring in Marriage and Family Counseling.
The Health Alliance is an integrated health care delivery system, which includes The Christ Hospital, The University Hospital, The St. Luke Hospitals, The Jewish Hospital, The Fort Hamilton Hospital and the physicians of Alliance Primary Care.</p><br>
