Largest kidney donation chain at Ohio State saves ten lives [Music playing] [Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center] [Text on screen, includes the time changing: DAY 01 06:19 AM 06:20 AM] Amer Rajab, MD, PhD: Now, of course, today's a very special day, with this huge exchange, you know. [Text on screen: Amer Rajab, MD, PhD Surgical Director, Kidney & Pancreas Transplantation Ohio State Wexner Medical Center] Dr. Rajab: With all these patients, we are very excited for how many transplants we're going to do today and how many patients we are going to help. We have five surgeries to complete our exchange for today. [Text on screen: Connected for Life Saving ten lives through one of the nation's largest kidney transplant chains] Dr. Rajab: So far, myself, I have performed over 1,500 of these procedures. One thing that's special about this procedure, each patient comes with a story. Mike Lange, BSN, RN: This all started because we had, you know, a non-directed donor in October of this year that said they were interested in proceeding with donation at this time. [Text on screen: Samantha Fledderjohann Non-Directed Living Kidney Donor] [Text on screen: Mike Lange, BSN, RN Living Donor Transplant Coordinator Ohio State Wexner Medical Center] Mike Lange, BSN, RN: We started looking at our exchange list and realized, piecing together, we had a compatibility of 10 donors and 10 recipients for 20 total surgeries, which would be one of the largest at Ohio State's history. [Text on screen: 10 donors. 10 recipients. 20 surgeries.] Dr. Rajab: I really have such admiration for these people, the donor. I mean, everybody, of course, but the donor. I mean, this lady, she has kids. She decided just to come have surgery to help somebody else. I mean, really it is unbelievable, you know. Dr. Rajab, speaking to patients: Knock knock knock. Oh my God. Hello. How are you? Mike Lange, BSN, RN: They're the ones that do all the work. I'm just here to help get them to the point of donating and that is happening. You know, what they wanted to happen is happening. And we're getting an impactful moment for all of those patients. Dr. Rajab: Okay. I'm Dr. Rajab, sorry, I didn't say so. I'm going to do her surgery. So two hours after we leave from here, sometimes plus-minus, because I prepare her kidney to come out, but I don't take it out until they're ready to put it in next door, in the recipient. [Text on screen: 07:15 a.m.] Dr. Rajab: You are ready? All right, let's do it. Let's do it. You are the star. You see. Patient: I am ready to do this. Dr. Rajab: Alright, sweetheart. It is unbelievable. Really unbelievable. And I admire you guys so much, you know? So your recipient will be in this room. Room 3, and you're going to be in room 4. Patient: Okay. Dr. Rajab: So your kidney is ready. We put magical feet on it. Magic feet on it and it will walk, literally walk to that room. Alright. So hopefully 7:30. Dr. Rajab: Alright, good. We are helping ten patients. So we start literally, we start with an altruistic donor. So this donor wants to donate a kidney and help anybody. He or she doesn't have a particular recipient. That's just great. They just want to help. [Text on screen: 03:22 PM, advances to 03:23 PM] Dr. Rajab: So we enter that kidney into this ten-recipient pool. So we give the recipient of that pool, the first recipient. He gets this kidney matching him or her. [Text on screen Illustration shows direction of kidney donations. Samantha to Scott, Shawn to Taurino, Maria to Jace, Dana to Terri, Jennifer to Patricia, Carley to Revana, Candice to Steven, Stacy to Darin, Alyssa to Jose, April to Sonya] Dr. Rajab: Then the donor of that recipient gives the recipient of the second family which again matching. And we're going to then cascade those recipients. They have a living donor - family member or friend - but they cannot take from them directly. And some of them, they are on the waiting list for two years. [Text on screen: Day 02 06:19 AM, advances to 06:20 AM] Dr. Rajab: They did wonderful. No issue, no problem, nothing. Completely done. Speaker: Thank you very much. Dr. Rajab: All right. Come on, guys, I like to hug. You know, I like to hug. Tomorrow, look at her and see how she looks. Her color will be different, her energy different. She'll look like brand new. I mean, literally, and without it. Yes. Dialysis keeps us going, but just keeps us going. But never back to us. So tomorrow, just count on my word. Tomorrow we talk. OK? [Text on screen: 04:36 PM] Dr. Rajab: How are you? Patient: I'm tired. How are you? Dr. Rajab: Oh, everything went well with you. See, the surgery went really well, so I'm really very pleased. Everything I see, I have no concern. [Text on screen: Grace Gray, BSN, RN Kidney Transplant Waitlist Coordinator Ohio State Wexner Medical Center] Grace Gray, BSN, RN: There's a lot of different things that can go into play and go wrong. So nervousness. But also excited. Very excited. Partially because of Dr. Rajab's excitement and Mike's excitement. [Text on screen: 02 DAYS Post surgery] Grace Gray, BSN, RN: But the fact that we got to impact 10 of my patients at once is just thrilling. The surgeons and all of the other staff like our support staff, our patient access coordinators. Without them, we couldn't have done any of this at all. Dr. Rajab: Tension is going down, you know, literally, because yes, we prepare, we check, we prepare, we check. But always, you know, our patients are not healthy, you know, the recipient. So you always worry anything happening, you know, but everything went perfectly. I mean really, no hiccups whatsoever. So I'm very happy. And the most important thing, my patients are happy. So everybody have really good outcomes so far. So we are really blessed. Thank you guys. [Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Be someone's hero. Become a non-directed kidney donor. wexnermedical.osu.edu/kidneydonor] [Music fades]