On July 8, 2003 the first cadaveric bone and joint transplantation surgery was performed at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Government General Hospital, Chennai. The patient Mr. sivakumar (22 Years) had none cancer of the leg (osteosarcoma of the proximal tibia). The bone and joint allograft was imported from Sri Lanka at a cost of $150. The successful four-hour procedure was carried out by Prof. Mayil Vahanan Natrajan and his team. At the end of the procedure the patient was stable. He was mobilized on the 12^th day with complete recovery in 3 months. No immunosuppressants are needed because the problem of rejection does not arise with bone transplants. The patient had been on 3 cycles of chemotherapy prior to the transplant surgery to prevent metastasis.

The success of this transplantation underlines the need to get the bone bank in Chennai going (please see the special report on the bone bank ITN vol V, Issue 14, Feb-June 2003) and also re-emphasized the need to promote organ and tissue donation.

NOTE: Two more successful cadaveric bone and joint transplantations have been done at the Government General Hospital, Chennai, since July 2003.