Telangana’s NIMS doctors perform a record 2,000 kidney transplants, 95% free of cost

Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad has achieved a major milestone in public healthcare, completing 2,000 kidney transplants and emerging as one of the country’s highest-volume renal transplant centres in government sector.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy congratulated the team of doctors and medical staff at NIMS, describing the achievement as a proud moment for Telangana’s healthcare sector.

The kidney transplant programme at NIMS began in 1989 with the department of urology performing its first renal transplant. Over the years, the programme expanded steadily; 448 renal transplants were performed at the hospital between 1989 and 2010, followed by 552 transplants between 2011 and June 2017. Another 500 procedures were completed between June 2017 and January 2023.

“The most rapid phase of growth came recently, with the last 500 kidney transplants completed within just 3 years and 4 months,” said Rahul Devraj, Head of the Department of Urology.

Of the 2,000 transplant recipients, 1,900 patients, accounting for 95%, underwent the procedure free of cost under the government’s Aarogyasri Healthcare Scheme and the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF), Dr. Devraj added..

Several complex transplant procedures were handled over the years, including surgeries involving multiple renal vessels with complicated anastomosis, paediatric renal transplants and redo transplants in patients with previously failed grafts.

He added that apart from kidney transplants, the urology department performs nearly 11,000 urological surgeries annually, including over 500 robotic surgeries completed within less than three years.