A 31-year-old man suffering from Type I Diabetes for the last 21 years which has affected his kidneys and led to ESRD (End Stage of Kidney Failure), and due to failure he required hemodialysis for the last 3 years. “While on dialysis, his condition continues to become progressively worse since last year, he got repeatedly admitted to PGI emergency for electrolyte disturbance requiring emergency dialysis or sometimes got admitted due to episodes of hypo or hyperglycemia. Additionally, his pancreas was also damaged. He needed both kidney and pancreas transplants to live. Whereas his sister decided to donate a kidney to her brother, but they had to wait for pancreas doner” Mentioned Prof. Ashish Sharma, Head, of the Department of Renal Transplant Surgery.
As the waiting list for the pancreas was too long, the team of doctors decided to proceed with a kidney transplant for that damaged pancreas. When they get consent from the family of one such victim, the team of doctors from PGI Chandigarh acted fast. And they decided to go for a simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant, where the pancreas was recouped from the brain-dead donor and a kidney from the patient’s sister.
The patient’s family was given the option of a twin transplant or emergency living donor kidney transplant along with a deceased donor pancreas transplant to which the family gets agreed. The operation lasted for 12 hours and involved about 30 medical professionals from various departments.
Miraculously, the combined transplanted operation was successful without any complications. Currently, the patient is maintaining a good urine output with normal blood sugar levels. Prof. Sharma said “Pancreas transplant is the only modality known to cure diabetes in the current era. Currently, this option is limited to very few hospitals in India. PGI, Chandigarh has become the leader in pancreas transplants in the country over the last few years.”
According to the statement, “Kundan Baitha 21 year old, a resident of west Champaran district in Bihar, was out for some work on January 22 when his bike skidded and he fell on the road. He suffered a severe head injury in the accident. Kundan was brought to PGIMER in critical condition on January 23. However, on January 29, he was declared brain-dead by the certified committee. His father Narsingh Baitha signed the consented to donate the organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys, and pancreas transplantation to give lives to others.”
Head of the department Prof H S Kohli, Nephrology, PGIMER mentioned “It was a huge challenge readying for the corpse and live transplant simultaneously. The team worked in tandem and at a breakless pace to make it a success finally.”
This was a first-ever achieving milestone, for the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research has successfully conducted its first-ever simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant on a Type I diabetes patient.
