Within 9 days of signing up in TN, 44-yr-old gets new kidneys
The transplantation was performed through the Indian Organ Transplant Associates (iORTA) system at FIMS Hospital, Coimbatore.
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CHENNAI: In a milestone for Tamil Nadu's organ transplant programme, a 44-year-old kidney patient achieved the shortest wait time ever recorded in the state's brain-dead donor transplant history at a private hospital in Coimbatore.
Vivek, a patient from Karnataka, was suffering from stage 5 chronic kidney disease and was on dialysis since October 2023. He registered in the state’s transplant list on April 25, 2025. Within nine days, a suitable donor organ was allocated and the transplant was successfully completed on May 4, setting a new benchmark in timely, ethical organ access and delivery.
The transplantation was performed through the Indian Organ Transplant Associates (iORTA) system at FIMS Hospital, Coimbatore.
The donor organ was retrieved from a 43-year-old brain-dead patient at Erode medical college and hospital following a fatal road accident. After five days on a ventilator, his creatinine levels rose from 1.8 to 7.0 mg/dL, prompting all transplant centres in TN to reject his kidney. However, the iORTA team adopted a scientific, precision-based assessment protocol.
"With technology, teamwork, and bold decision-making, we transformed a 'non-usable' organ into a second chance at life," said Dr Prabhu Kanchi, lead transplant nephrologist, iORTA, at a press meet here in Chennai.
The surgical team performed an en bloc implantation, a technique where both kidneys, though retrieved separately, were transplanted as a single unit on one side, to replace both kidneys of the patient. This eliminated the need for dual incisions, reducing surgical morbidity and preserving cosmetic integrity for the patient. Despite extended ischemia times—10 hours cold and 2.5 hours warm—the patient is currently recovering well.
