GMCH set to lead eastern India in annual kidney transplants as complex surgeries rise

Guwahati, Dec 10: The Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) is on course to perform the highest number of kidney transplants in a calendar year among all government-run facilities in eastern India by the end of this year.

The GMCH, now one of the region’s fastest rising centres for renal care, has already carried out over 30 kidney transplants in the past seven months. The tally is expected to rise further by the end of this year.

A senior Health department source said the transplant team has successfully managed ‘high-risk’ cases and medically complex donor recipient combinations with precision.

“These are surgeries that many public hospitals in the Northeast would earlier refer to bigger centres outside the region. GMCH performing them in-house marks a significant leap in medical capability. Even the retrieval surgery from living donor is exclusively done by laparscopic surgery by expert urological laparoscopic surgeons at GMCH,” the official noted.

He added that, at the current pace, GMCH is well on its way to being recognized as a ‘high volume renal transplant centre’, a status usually reserved for major national hubs in cities such as Delhi, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

“The distinction is based on annual transplant numbers and consistently strong clinical outcomes – both areas where GMCH is rapidly gaining ground,” he opined.

Government records show that the Urology and Nephrology departments at GMCH have performed 162 renal transplants since 2004, including 18 procedures last year alone.

The hospital conducted its first cadaveric transplant in 2023, and has since completed four such surgeries, signalling a crucial expansion into deceased donor transplantation.

“Yet, challenges persist! Despite our best efforts, the shortage of organs from deceased donors remains a major hurdle,” a GMCH official told this correspondent.

“Often, immediate family members agree to donate, but the decision is reversed by close or distant relatives at the last moment. This hesitation, driven by social stigma and misinformation, continues to slow the growth of deceased organ donation in the region.”

The official added that this reluctance has swollen the waiting list of patients desperately hoping for a life-saving transplant. “The gap between demand and availability is still wide. Bridging it will require sustained, widespread public awareness,” he added.