Tanda Medical College to start kidney transplant facility soon

Raghav Guleria

Dharamsala, May 16

Kidney transplants will soon become a reality at the Tanda Medical College (TMC) hospital in Kangra. The hospital has got a team of expert doctors who are set to conduct the first such procedure some time in June.

What is Renal transplant

A donor can give his kidney to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patient. Renal transplant is a surgery performed to replace a diseased or damaged kidney with a healthy kidney obtained from a donor. The kidney can come from a deceased donor or a living donor.

TMC principal Dr Milap told The Tribune, “The specialist doctors are enthusiastic ahead of the first kidney transplant at the premier institution. The last-hour formalities will be completed probably after the Lok Sabha elections. We plan to rope in experts from PGI, Chandigarh, for first few procedures and after that the transplant will be done by the specialists here on a routine basis.” After an open-heart surgery was conducted successfully at the TMC, the kidney transplant would be another feather in the hospital’s cap.

As of now, patients from lower Himachal districts of Kangra, Chamba, Hamirpur, Mandi and Una depend on the neighbouring states for kidney transplant. It costs a lot of time and money to them.

With the kidney transplant set to become a reality in the TMC, the credit goes to the TMC principal and his team, including Dr Abhinav Rana, HOD Nephrology, and Dr Amit Sharma, Renal Transplant Surgeon. According to Dr Rana and Dr Sharma, 23 patients are in the queue and all modalities for renal replacement therapies are available at TMC. Generally, a transplant costs around Rs 5-6 lakh. The procedure will be cashless for the Him-Care and Ayushman scheme beneficiaries. The transplant facility is likely to be free of cost for the below-poverty line (BPL) families. The advance registration is on and more than 20 patients have got their names listed. Any patient who wants to undergo kidney transplant can register at room numbers 125 and 127 in TMC.