Guwahati, The first successful cadaveric kidney transplant in the northeast was carried out at a state-run hospital in Guwahati, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.
He said two kidneys of a brain-dead accident victim were recently transplanted to two people at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), and both recipients recovered well.
In a press conference, Sarma said: "Kidney transplants have been carried out at GMCH for six years. But this is the first time that a kidney transplant has been successfully carried out from a brain-dead donor, with the permission of the family. "
This procedure was tried earlier at GMCH, but without success, added Sarma, who recently took over the health portfolio.
He claimed that the successful procedure at the state hospital was the first cadaveric kidney transplant in the entire northeastern region.
Cadaveric transplantation involves the removal of organs from a brain-dead donor with functional circulation or from patients with sudden cardiac death.
The kidneys were harvested from donor Parag Gogoi, a Guwahati resident who was a victim of an accident and admitted to GMCH, with the consent of his family. A kidney was transplanted to 38-year-old Amar Basfor of Guwahati and 21-year-old Pallab Jyoti Das of Nagaon.
"We are very grateful to Gogoi's family for showing his big heart. His act has ensured a healthy life for two people," he said.
Emphasizing the need to encourage families to donate organs, the CM said, "We must publicly acknowledge every time a family comes forward. This will create awareness about organ donation and encourage more people to do so."
He lamented that in many cases when families are contacted for organ donation, they demand "something in return" and praised the decision of Gogoi's relatives for their noble step.
He mentioned that in other states, especially south India, liver and kidneys are routinely donated in such cases, and hospitals have a list of intended recipients ready.
Sarma said that if organ donation is encouraged, illegal organ trafficking can be stopped.
Another recent success at the GMCH has been IVF-induced pregnancies, the CM said, adding that 36 embryos have been successfully transferred into the uteruses, eight pregnancies have been reported and one child was born through Caesarean section.
Another critical bone marrow transplant procedure is being performed at the GMCH in recent times, with 28 cases already successfully attended to and three more patients currently receiving treatment at the hospital, he added.
"The GMCH is now becoming a super specialty hospital in the true sense. And once the work on the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH) (also in Guwahati) is completed, the city will have even more facilities," he said the CM.
He said the government is working to make state hospitals financially self-reliant by properly using health insurance schemes like Ayushman Bharat in these establishments.
"If government hospitals provide treatment to cardholders, they will get reimbursement from the relevant authorities. This will save the government a lot of money," he added.
Sarma said the use of Ayushman Bharat and other government health insurance schemes in private hospitals will be controlled and limited to hospitals providing super specialty services.
"We have seen that many private hospitals with very limited facilities survive by claiming reimbursement from the government after providing very simple procedures to their patients. This must stop and we are working on it," he added.
He said two kidneys of a brain-dead accident victim were recently transplanted to two people at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), and both recipients recovered well.
In a press conference, Sarma said: "Kidney transplants have been carried out at GMCH for six years. But this is the first time that a kidney transplant has been successfully carried out from a brain-dead donor, with the permission of the family. "
This procedure was tried earlier at GMCH, but without success, added Sarma, who recently took over the health portfolio.
He claimed that the successful procedure at the state hospital was the first cadaveric kidney transplant in the entire northeastern region.
Cadaveric transplantation involves the removal of organs from a brain-dead donor with functional circulation or from patients with sudden cardiac death.
The kidneys were harvested from donor Parag Gogoi, a Guwahati resident who was a victim of an accident and admitted to GMCH, with the consent of his family. A kidney was transplanted to 38-year-old Amar Basfor of Guwahati and 21-year-old Pallab Jyoti Das of Nagaon.
"We are very grateful to Gogoi's family for showing his big heart. His act has ensured a healthy life for two people," he said.
Emphasizing the need to encourage families to donate organs, the CM said, "We must publicly acknowledge every time a family comes forward. This will create awareness about organ donation and encourage more people to do so."
He lamented that in many cases when families are contacted for organ donation, they demand "something in return" and praised the decision of Gogoi's relatives for their noble step.
He mentioned that in other states, especially south India, liver and kidneys are routinely donated in such cases, and hospitals have a list of intended recipients ready.
Sarma said that if organ donation is encouraged, illegal organ trafficking can be stopped.
Another recent success at the GMCH has been IVF-induced pregnancies, the CM said, adding that 36 embryos have been successfully transferred into the uteruses, eight pregnancies have been reported and one child was born through Caesarean section.
Another critical bone marrow transplant procedure is being performed at the GMCH in recent times, with 28 cases already successfully attended to and three more patients currently receiving treatment at the hospital, he added.
"The GMCH is now becoming a super specialty hospital in the true sense. And once the work on the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH) (also in Guwahati) is completed, the city will have even more facilities," he said the CM.
He said the government is working to make state hospitals financially self-reliant by properly using health insurance schemes like Ayushman Bharat in these establishments.
"If government hospitals provide treatment to cardholders, they will get reimbursement from the relevant authorities. This will save the government a lot of money," he added.
Sarma said the use of Ayushman Bharat and other government health insurance schemes in private hospitals will be controlled and limited to hospitals providing super specialty services.
"We have seen that many private hospitals with very limited facilities survive by claiming reimbursement from the government after providing very simple procedures to their patients. This must stop and we are working on it," he added.
