Test that matches kidneys to recipients now free for the poor at city hospital

Chennai: A new immunology laboratory offering free or subsidised diagnostic services for economically disadvantaged patients is now open at Madras Medical Mission Hospital. Doctors say it could improve outcomes for nearly 9,000 patients on Tamil Nadu's kidney transplant waiting list.The HLA — Human Leukocyte Antigen — test, conducted before an organ transplant, maps the unique protein markers on a patient's cells and matches them against those of a potential donor. "Every person carries a distinct combination of these markers, and the closer the match between donor and recipient, the lower the risk of the body rejecting the transplanted kidney. A poor match can cause the donated organ to fail, sometimes within hours of surgery," said nephrologist Dr Georgi Abraham.Beyond pre-transplant matching, HLA testing detects early signs of rejection after surgery — making it an ongoing safeguard, not just a one-time screening. "These high-end tests are either not available or remain inaccessible for patients," Dr Abraham said. TANKER Foundation, which facilitated the laboratory with funding from Aptus Value Housing Finance India Limited, will offer tests that cost up to 40,000 at private hospitals to the poor free of charge and at subsidised rates for others.Chronic kidney disease has emerged as a silent epidemic, affecting an estimated 17 per cent of the population — nearly one in six people — according to national health surveys. Yet fewer than 10 per cent of patients needing a transplant ever receive one, held back by donor shortages, long waiting lists, and high costs. "Patients get support from Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, Rotary International Clubs and other philanthropists for subsidised dialysis and treatment, but there is always a need," said TANKER Foundation managing trustee Latha A Kumaraswami.