Sixteen people. Four states. Eight kidney transplants. That’s what just took place in several hospitals across the country in the largest organ chain of donations in history.
Multiple kidney transplants occur when several people who need transplants have friends or relatives who are willing to donate organs but aren’t compatible. A chain of surgeries is arranged in which each donor is matched with a transplant candidate they don’t know but who is compatible with the kidney being donated. Chain transplants typically also involve an altruistic donor, who is willing to donate a kidney to anyone and is located through a database.
