Max Super Speciality Hospital Achieves First-of-Its-Kind 3-Way Swap Kidney Transplant

New Delhi: In a remarkable display of humanity beyond faith, three families came together at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, to save each other’s lives through a rare three-way paired kidney transplant. Six simultaneous surgeries were performed in a single day, giving new life to three men battling kidney failure. All six patients, donors and recipients, have recovered well and were discharged within a week.

The recipients, Shadab Ali (36) from Rani Ganj, West Bengal, Joginder Kumar (52) from Hari Nagar, New Delhi, and Vinod Kumar (51) from Obra, Bihar, were all suffering from severe kidney disease and had been surviving on dialysis.

Shadab had been diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy and also suffered from Peripheral Neuropathy, a condition affecting nerve communication between the brain and limbs, a common neurological complication for Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Joginder had previously undergone a failed kidney transplant and had low heart function, while Vinod had coronary artery disease and had undergone bypass surgery (CABG) before his kidneys began to fail.

Each had a family member willing to donate a kidney, but due to incompatible blood groups, direct donation was not possible. The families, therefore, agreed to a paired kidney transplant, a coordinated exchange that allowed each patient to receive a compatible kidney from another family. Through this arrangement, Shadab’s wife, Mrs. Simran Parveen (30) donated her kidney to Joginder; Joginder’s sister, Mrs. Suman (41) donated to Vinod; and Vinod’s wife, Mrs. Poonam Devi (51) donated to Shadab.

According to Dr. Dinesh Khullar, Group Chairman, Nephrology & Renal Transplant Medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, “Kidney transplants in India largely depend on living related donors, but this pool is shrinking as nuclear families become the norm. Often, a willing donor cannot donate because of a blood group mismatch or immune sensitization from previous transplants, transfusions, or pregnancies.

In such cases, a paired or swap transplant becomes the way forward, where families exchange donors to make compatible matches possible. This case was a perfect example, where three families came together, and through the advanced APKD software we were able to identify compatible pairs with scientific precision and transparency, allowing all three transplants to happen successfully in a single day.”

The transplant was led by Dr. Anant Kumar, Chairman, Urology, Renal Transplant, and Robotics, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, along with a multidisciplinary team of specialists. The team performed six operations in parallel across six operation theatres between 8 AM and 3 PM in a feat of exceptional coordination.

Leading the surgical team, Dr. Anant Kumar, Chairman, Urology, Renal Transplant, and Robotics, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, added, “Such complex multi-pair swaps require not just surgical skill but also mutual trust and emotional strength from the families involved. Coordinating six simultaneous transplants, including patients with cardiac and neurological complications, was a major challenge, but the collaboration between the families and the hospital teams made it a success.”

Beyond its medical significance, the case stands out as a moving example of unity and empathy. Families who had never met before placed complete trust in one another, defying religious and regional divides to give the ultimate gift of life. The successful outcome reinforces Max Healthcare’s leadership in complex transplant procedures and its commitment to promoting organ donation as a social movement rooted in compassion and collective good. The three recipients, now recovering steadily, embody the transformative power of trust, science, and shared humanity.