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No Complications So Far During Rare 9-Way Kidney Swap At UCSF Medical Center & CPMC

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – A nine-way kidney transplant chain that began Thursday in San Francisco is set to finish on Friday. So far, doctors said there are no reports of complications and all of the patients are doing fine.

Reid Moran-Haywood began the chain, when doctors at the UCSF removed his kidney and carefully transported it to a recipient at California Pacific Medical Center.

The unusual nine-way swap is possible thanks to a partnership between the two hospitals and software programs connecting compatible patients with donors.

"The larger the denominator and choices you have potentially, the more transplants you can get done," said Dr. Robert Osorio, director of transplantation at CPMC.

One pair is a husband and wife. He isn't a match for her, so he donated his kidney to someone else. In return, she is paired with a compatible donor.

Reid, who started the chain, is an avid runner from Napa who tried to donate for a friend last fall. "I decided to donate to somebody that I don't know," he said.

In San Francisco, more than 7,000 patients at UCSF and CPMC wait for a kidney transplant. They comprise nearly 40 percent of California's waiting list, and 7 percent of the nation's. Some wait as long as eight years.

Doctors at both hospitals hope their partnership serves as a model for the nation. "And by getting those patients off the list, we're giving other patients an opportunity to go up the list," Osorio said.

Five kidney transplants happened Thursday in ten surgeries. The remaining four transplants are set for Friday.

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