The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Comprehensive Transplant Center Amer Rajab, MD, PhD, surgical director of kidney and pancreas transplantation at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center: Now, of course, today's a very special day, with this huge exchange, you know. And we are very excited for how many we're going to do today and how many patients we are going to help. We have five 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] Amer Rajab: So far, myself, I have performed over 1,500 of these procedures. Amer Rajab: One thing about this procedure, each patient comes with a story. Mike Lange, BSN, RN, living donor transplant coordinator at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center: This all started because we had, you know, an 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] Mike Lange: 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.] Amer 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 has she decided just to come have surgery to help somebody else. I mean, really it is unbelievable, you know. Amer Rajab, speaking to patients: Knock knock knock. Oh my God. Hello. How are you? Mike Lange: 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. Amer 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 in next door, in the recipient. [Text on screen 07:15 a.m.] Amer Rajah: 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. Amer 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. OK? They’re in 3, and you're going to be in room 4. Okay? So your kidney is ready. We put magical feet on it. Amer Rajab: Magic feet on it and will walk literally walk to that room. Alright. So hopefully 7:30. Amer Rajab, speaking to the camera: 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 03:23 p.m.] Amer 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. 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. [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] Amer Rajab: And some of them, they are on the waiting list for two years. [Text on screen Day 02 06:19 a.m.] Amer Rajab, speaking to patient's family: They did wonderful. No issue, no problem, nothing completely done. Thanks. All right. Come on, guys, I like to hug. You know, I like to hug. Tomorrow, look at her and see how she looks. Oh, look 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 p.m.] Amer Rajab, speaking to patient: How are you? Patient: I'm tired. How are you? Amer 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. Grace Gray, BSN, RN, kidney transplant waitlist coordinator at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center: 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. 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. [Text on screen 02 days Post surgery] Amer Rajab, speaking to camera: 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 we really had no hiccups whatsoever. So I'm very happy. And the most important thing my patients are happy. So everybody has really good outcomes so far. So we are really blessed. Thank you guys. [Text on screen Be someone's hero. Become a non-directed kidney donor. wexnermedical.osu.edu/kidneydonor]