The first Simultaneous Pancreas Kidney (SPK) transplant in Western India was performed on 6th November 2016 at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital (DMH), Pune. The recipient, Mr. Pavan Motwani, was only nine years old when he was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. He said that now at 29 the transplant had wrought a miraculous change in his life.

Mr. Motwani’s condition had deteriorated in the last five years. His kidneys had started failing after years of diabetes and he was on dialysis. The unstable and uncontrolled diabetes resulted in his sugar levels either drastically dropping or spiking dangerously at the slightest variation of insulin doses. In addition there were other diabetic complications involving the eyes, heart and nerves. “The transplant has simply given him a new lease of life,” said Dr. Vrishali Patil, multi-organ transplant surgeon at DMH who headed the team that performed the transplant.