In a rare series of interlinked operations , 12 patients will participate in a 'kidney swap ' at a San Francisco hospital . The procedures - which take around three hours - will be performed Thursday and Friday at California Pacific Medical Center , with six organ donors and six recipients . People in the chain are not compatible with relatives or friends to whom they are willing to give kidneys . So , they donate to strangers they do match . Back-to-back : In a rare series of interlinked operations , six patients are getting kidney transplants from six donors at a San Francisco hospital . Dr William Bry says the 'paired donations ' are occurring thanks to a woman who started a chain of donations and a computer program that matches donors to recipients . Zully Broussard , 55 , of Sacramento agreed to give a kidney to a man who was not compatible with his relative . That relative , in turn , will donate a kidney to a patient who also has a family member or friend unable to donate because of compatibility issues . This kind of pairing continues down the line four more times until all six kidney patients get transplants , the San Francisco station reported . The paired kidney exchange happened through computer software called MatchGrid , developed by David Jacobs , who is a kidney recipient . Its algorithmic program uses a person 's genetic profile and finds potential matches . Once the matches are confirmed , doctors , nurses and case managers work on the logistics of making it a reality . Inspiration : Dr William Bry says the 'paired donations ' are occurring thanks to Zully Broussard , 55 , ( pictured ) who started a chain of donations and a computer program that matches donors to recipients . Ready to go : The procedures - which take around three hours - will be performed Thursday and Friday at California Pacific Medical Center ( pictured ) , with six organ donors and six recipients . Broussard said her son died of cancer 13 years ago and her husband passed away 14 months ago , also from cancer . ' I know what it feels like to want an extra day , ' she said when asked why she volunteered to donate a kidney to a stranger . Three transplants are planned for Thursday and the remaining three on Friday . Most of those involved are from the San Francisco Bay Area . ' I thought I was going to help this one person who I do n't know , but the fact that so many people can have a life extension , that 's pretty big , ' Broussard said . More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are awaiting kidney transplants . Most on the waiting list need the transplant within three to five years and many have died waiting .
The procedures will take place on Thursday and Friday at California Pacific Medical Center . A spokesman for the hospital said it was not immediately clear how many people would be affected.