AIIMS-N performs its maiden kidney transplant

Nagpur: Within three years after getting a state-of-the-art infrastructure at Mihan-SEZ, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Nagpur successfully performed its first live related organ transplant on Tuesday.
A 34-year-old man from Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat received the kidney from his 57-year-old father. The patient was suffering from end stage renal failure and was on dialysis for the last one year. The transplant was covered under PM and CM Fund (Madhya Pradesh).

Well-known urologist Dr Sanjay Kolte led and guided the AIIMS team which has only one urologist. The institute has brought on board four consultant specialists including Dr Kolte for kidney transplant programme with a target of performing at least four organ transplants every month.
Dr MH Rao, executive director (additional charge), AIIMS Nagpur, said the post-operative care would be handled by in-house nephrology department team.
Dr Manish Shrigiriwar, medical superintendent, told TOI that the aim is to establish AIIMS Nagpur as a prime transplant centre.
The hospital has encountered several hurdles and challenges right from searching experienced urologists to approvals in starting the super speciality service.
The special arrangement of seeking assistance from private doctors was done after high rate of refusal from shortlisted candidates to join the department of urology on full-time basis.
The much-awaited transplant surgery was performed in the vacant cardiology operation theatre (OT) after the designated OT didn’t meet sanitation requirements.
Under the same model, the hospital now plans to initiate heart, liver and lung transplant programme without waiting for full-time faculty recruitment under respective departments.
AIIMS Nagpur’s first kidney transplant also revived the programme in government hospitals after the lone centre at Super Speciality Hospital (SSH) at GMCH was shut following Covid pandemic.
A kidney transplant cost around ₹12 to 15lakh in a private hospital. Many patients are on waitlist under the zonal transplant coordination committee (ZTCC) either have to register in far off cities where government hospitals run transplant centre. As per doctors, those unable to afford the costly surgery pass away without timely intervention.
A transplant centre was badly needed at a government hospital in Central India.
On the same day, AIIMS Nagpur also received a request for organ retrieval from a brain dead person from ZTCC. The patient was shifted to AIIMS and the process of retrieval was underway till late on Tuesday evening.
AIIMS recently conducted its first bone marrow transplant (BMT) too. It has also received deceased donor organ retrieval centre nod from the government.