Tripura Achieves Major Breakthrough, Successfully Completes First Kidney Transplant

AGARTALA: In a breakthrough moment for the state, Tripura has successfully completed its first-ever kidney transplant of a 20-year-old boy at GB Pant and Agartala Government Medical College after investing nearly 5 hours on Monday.

Dr Sankar Chakraborty, the Medical Superintendent of GB Pant Hospital and Agartala Government Medical College, said that it is a landmark moment for Tripura as this marks the first successful kidney transplant in the state. 

He stated that a meeting on kidney transplantation was held on August 21, 2023 and a committee chaired by the then Chief Medical Superintendent, now Director of Health Service, Dr. Sanjib Kumar Debbarma, was formed on August 23.

“As per the committee, all the doctors related to the transplant were included, and a protocol was made on January 4, 2024, which we forwarded to Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha, and it was approved by him on January 18 on the same year. Step by step, we completed all the necessary procedures and started looking for a mentor in the Northeast region. We selected Shija Hospitals and Research Institute of Manipur, and they agreed to assist us on technical grounds,” he said.

Dr Chakraborty revealed that the patient, a 20-year-old boy, was admitted in January this year with a creatinine level of 16, and since then, dialysis has been started at GB Pant Hospital. 

“In Mukhyamantri Samipesu, chaired by Chief Minister Dr Saha, who is also the health minister, the patient along with his parents came to the Chief Minister, and we were instructed to take action. We spoke with SHIJA Hospital and other doctors in the state, conducted all necessary medical examinations of the patient, and signed an MoU with SHIJA in May this year. We fixed July 8 for the operation. The mother of the patient has donated her kidney to his son. It was done free of cost, and the government covered all expenses, including the costs for the Manipur team. Some medicines and other accessories were brought from SHIJA Hospital,” he added.

Dr Guliver Potsangbam, a nephrologist from Shija Hospitals and Research Institute of Manipur, who spearheaded the team, informed that the operation was successful and the patient is stable.

“We performed the first surgery today. We visited the hospital several times to assess the adequacy of facilities, and any suggestions we made were promptly addressed. Everything moved smoothly after that. We will continue mentoring the team of GB Pant and AGMC until they can perform the surgery independently. SHIJA has been performing kidney transplants since 2016 and has completed 114 kidney transplants,” he said.

He went on to disclose that the operation started at 9 AM and concluded by 2:30 PM, adding that the patient survival rate stood at 100%.

Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Kanak Chowdhury, Dr Bijit Lodh, urologist; Dr Mukut Debnath, urologist; Dr Manas Gope, nephrologist; Dr Samaresh Pal, nephrologist; and others from GB Pant and AGMC were also present.

With inputs from India Today NE.

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