A 39-year-old from Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh who had been suffering from kidney ailment for almost seven years got a new lease of life at Safdarjung Hospital. His wife donated one of her kidneys and he had undergone a robotic kidney transplant, free of cost. This also happened to be 100th kidney transplant and the first robotic kidney transplant performed at the Sadarjung Hospital, Delhi.

The procedure was performed on 21st September, 2022, after the COVID-19 wave had passed. Dr. Anup Kumar, Head of the Urology, Robotics, and Renal Transplant Department of the central government-run facility told that the patient works in a private company in Uttar Pradesh and had come to Safdarjung Hospital for his transplant. The cost of the robotic transplant procedure in the private sector can go up to Rs. 6-7 lakh and this patient couldn't afford the same.

Dr. Kumar added that the surgery itself was technically challenging as the patient was obese with the BMI of 32. In addition, this surgery also requires expertise, both in robotics and transplant surgery. While talking about the transplant, he said “Robotic surgery is a minimally invasive surgery and there are only a fewer chances of post-surgery hernia and infection (unlike a regular transplant, where an open surgery is performed through a larger muscle-cutting process). It is more accurate, and leaves patients with fewer scars post-surgery.”

Dr. Kumar called the transplant surgery a milestone in the history of Safdarjung Hospital. “It requires great expertise, but not all patients are suitable for minimally invasive s          urgery and we select patients on a case-by-case basis”, he added.