A 51-year-old woman has been given a new lease of life after undergoing a rare first-of-its-kind dual kidney transplant and now has four kidneys.
The AIIMS' Department of Surgical Disciplines and Department of Nephrology conducted the rare surgery in collaboration with the Organ Retrieval Banking Organisation (ORBO).
Dr. Asuri Krishna, an additional professor at AIIMS, told Indian news that they conducted the surgery by placing both kidneys on the right side of the recipient, one on top of the other.
Dr. Krishna explained that the procedure was complex because they had to place two kidneys in a restricted area, which is usually not the case as only one kidney is usually transplanted. However, the recipient has had a smooth recovery and both kidneys are performing well after the surgery.
The donor was a 78-year-old woman, who was declared brain dead by the doctors at the AIIMS Trauma Centre after she suffered a severe head injury due to a fall on December 19.
“The challenge was that because of her extreme age, her single kidney would not have been sufficient for a patient on dialysis. Therefore, a decision was taken to use both kidneys in a single recipient,” Dr. Krishna said.