Matching donor organs with recipients requires a great deal of testing to ensure compatibility between donor organs and recipients. HLA (Human leukocyte antigen) matching is a critical step in identifying potential recipients for donated kidneys. “Typically the donor HLA is identified by Gift of Life’s contracted laboratory utilizing the donor’s blood before the organ recovery,” explained Lawrence F. Suplee of the Gift of Life Donor Program (GOLDP). “Recently, though, we had an organ donor who had received a significant amount of blood products making it impossible to accurately identify the donor’s HLA typing through blood testing.”
With the organ clock ticking — the kidneys were already recovered but GOLDP could not begin identifying potential recipients without the HLA typing — they reached out to Bao (Andy) Ngo, a tissue type technologist in HUP’s HLA lab. Could he identify the donor’s HLA using a sample of donor tissue?
Ngo agreed to help without hesitation. He completed the tests and quickly communicated the results to Gift of Life staff. “Without Andy’s assistance we would not have been able to identify the donor HLA and identify recipients in an expeditious manner,” Suplee said. “We were able honor the wishes of the donor and their family and save two lives through these donated kidneys.”