ABO-Incompatible Kidney Transplant Successfully Performed at KIMS Kurnool

In a remarkable medical achievement, doctors at KIMS Hospital, Kurnool successfully performed an ABO-incompatible kidney transplant, giving a 28-year-old man a new lease of life. The patient’s father donated his kidney despite having an incompatible blood group, highlighting the advanced transplant capabilities available in the Rayalaseema region.

The patient, Madhu Krishna (28) from Allugundu village in Veldurthi mandal of Kurnool district, was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2025. As he is young, doctors advised kidney transplantation as the best treatment option.

Madhu Krishna’s blood group is A positive, while his father Gorantla has AB positive blood group, making the transplant incompatible under normal circumstances. The family consulted several hospitals in Kurnool and Hyderabad, but they were informed that the transplant could not be performed due to the blood group mismatch.

In November 2025, the family approached KIMS Hospital, Kurnool and consulted Dr. K. Anantha Rao, Consultant Nephrologist and Transplant Physician. After a detailed evaluation, the medical team decided to proceed with an ABO-incompatible kidney transplant, a technically challenging procedure that requires specialized preparation.

Following a series of advanced pre-transplant treatments, the transplant surgery was successfully performed on February 13, 2026. The patient recovered well and was discharged from the hospital on February 21, 2026. At present, he is in stable condition with a serum creatinine level of 1 mg/dl, indicating good kidney function.

The transplant was carried out by a multidisciplinary team including Dr. K. Anantha Rao, Dr. Y. Manoj Kumar, Dr. Uma Maheshwara Rao, Dr. Akhtar, and Dr. Bhuvaneshwari, among others.

Explaining the procedure, Dr. Anantha Rao said that performing a kidney transplant when the donor and recipient have incompatible blood groups is a complex process. It requires a special pre-transplant treatment protocol known as desensitization, which reduces the antibodies in the recipient’s body that could otherwise reject the transplanted kidney.

As part of the preparation, patients are given vaccinations to reduce infection risk and administered Rituximab injections to prevent the formation of new antibodies. Procedures such as plasma exchange are also carried out to remove existing antibodies from the bloodstream. The transplant is performed only after antibody levels are reduced to less than 1:4.

Dr. Anantha Rao noted that such advanced transplant procedures are available only at a few specialized centres. However, all these facilities are now available at KIMS Hospital, Kurnool, making it possible for patients in the Rayalaseema region to access world-class treatment closer to home.

He added that more than 80 kidney transplants have been successfully performed at KIMS Kurnool so far. These include pediatric transplants, swap transplants, ABO-incompatible transplants, cadaver transplants, and high-risk transplants.

With the availability of such advanced medical facilities, kidney patients in Rayalaseema no longer need to travel to metro cities for transplantation, as comprehensive kidney transplant services are now available in Kurnool itself, he said.