Father donates kidney to give son another chance at healthy life

In a landmark 200th kidney transplant for UCT Private Academic Hospital, a young man who has consistently defied the odds now has another chance at a full, healthy life – his father stepping up to the plate as his kidney donor.

Thirty-four-year-old Kevin Vicars was born with renal complications which, according to his doctor at the time, were incurable and meant that he likely had just weeks to live.

His shattered parents took him home to love and care for their precious boy as long as time would allow, but Kevin rallied and remembers a happy, normal childhood apart from regular blood tests.

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First transplant extends life

“In fact, the very first time I was ever hospitalised was when I had my first transplant at the age of eight after my health took a downturn the year before.

“That transplant gave me an additional 25 years, which is far longer than expected, with a deceased donor kidney.”

Professor Elmi Muller, a transplant surgeon practicing at UCT Private Academic Hospital, noted that at this milestone for the hospital, the Vicars family stands as a shining example of what good health can mean, not only for a transplant recipient but also for a donor – even later in life.

“Kevin’s father, John, is 67 years old but he has worked hard at being in good shape to give his son the best possible chance with this kidney transplant. Transplantation is not always feasible and is never an easy process for donor or recipient, but maintaining good health can make all the difference,” said Muller.

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Now, after his second transplant, which took place in April this year, Kevin is embracing his next chapter with renewed energy.

He is already back in fitness training, taking the ups and downs of recovery in his stride.

Reflecting on the hundreds of patients and loved ones whose lives have been touched by the transplant programme at UCT Private Academic Hospital, Muller says that this has also included many high-risk patients who require specialised solutions.

Filtering out antibodies from blood

This has led to the centre offering the only private ABO incompatible kidney transplantation programme in the country, further meeting the needs of high-risk patients as well as giving patients more options when it comes to identifying potential donors.

Dr Zunaid Barday, a nephrologist practising at the hospital, says that ABO incompatible transplantation solves the problem of certain blood group incompatibilities between recipients and donors, which is a key factor in ensuring that the recipient’s body does not reject the donor kidney.

“In the simplest terms, we use a highly specialised and efficient type of medical technology that specifically filters out the antibodies from a recipient’s blood prior to transplantation, making it possible for them to receive a kidney from a person with a blood type that would otherwise be incompatible.

This means that the pool of potential donors is much larger, giving many more people a better chance at life,” he said.