Valentine’s Day Marks First Paired Kidney Donor Transplant With Matchmaker Software
New Program Reduces Transplant Waiting List and Saves Lives
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 14, 2007) – On Valentine’s Day, two couples will undergo a paired kidney donation transplant at California Pacific Medical Center, thanks to a new computer program called Matchmaker. By helping to identify compatible donor-recipient pairs, the Matchmaker software enables two individuals to receive kidney transplants, thereby removing their names from the national waiting list for a transplant. Currently, there are about 75,000 individuals nationally waiting for a kidney, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.
Paired kidney donation is an option for patients in need of a kidney transplant who have a living donor whose blood or tissue type is not compatible. With a paired kidney transplant, two incompatible donor-recipient pairs ‘exchange’ kidneys, making two compatible living donor transplants possible.
“Our experience, as well as that in literature, suggests that paired donation can help a large number of patients on the waiting list who initially present with an incompatible donor,” says Steven Katznelson, M.D., medical director of the Kidney Transplant Program at California Pacific. “By using the Matchmaker program, we hope to help as many patients as possible receive a kidney and spare them years on the waiting list.”
San Francisco technology entrepreneur David Jacobs developed Silverstone Solution’s Matchmaker© to identify patients who have healthy yet incompatible donors and match them with other similar donor-recipient pairs. In 2004, David underwent a kidney transplant at California Pacific Medical Center as he had end-stage renal disease caused by polycystic kidney disease. Following this experience, he worked closely with California Pacific physicians to develop a software that could quickly and accurately match patients in need of kidney transplants who have a qualified, incompatible donor.
Related Web Sites:
Paired Kidney Transplant Program at California Pacific Medical Center
Silverstone Solutions’ Matchmaker© Software
United Network for Organ Sharing
Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation
About California Pacific Medical Center
At San Francisco’s California Pacific Medical Center, we believe in the power of medicine. We research the most up-to-date treatments, hire the most qualified individuals, and practice the most modern, innovative medicine available. We deliver the highest quality expert care with kindness and compassion in acute, post-acute and outpatient services, as well as preventive and complementary medicine.
But we also believe that medicine alone is only part of the solution. That’s why we look intently at each individual case and treat the whole person, not just the illness. It’s why we go beyond medical care and provide our patients with things like disease counseling, family support, and wellness treatments. As one of California’s largest private, community based, not-for-profit, teaching medical centers, and a Sutter Health affiliate, we are able to reach deep into our community to provide education, screening, and financial support in some of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods. Because medicine can transform a body. But going beyond medicine can transform a life.