By Firstdespatch Desk Jul 08, 2024
Agartala, July 8 (FD) Another feather was added to the cap of GB Pant Hospital and Agartala Government Medical College on Monday as it successfully conducted the state’s first-ever kidney transplant. A five-hour-long, intricate, and successful operation by a team of doctors gave a new lease of life to a 20-year-old youth who was tired of dialysis and other treatment formalities. However, it was an uphill task, requiring about a year's preparation and the full cooperation of the government, headed by the Chief Minister who is a doctor.
Dr. Sankar Chakraborty, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, said the journey began on August 21, 2023, and today it was accomplished. A committee, headed by the then Chief Medical Superintendent of the hospital and now Director of Health Services, Dr. Sanjib Kumar Debbarma, was formed.
Dr. Chakraborty said, “All the doctors involved in the transplant were members of the said committee, which created a protocol on January 4 this year, approved by Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha on January 18. Then, we chose Shija Hospitals and Research Institute of Manipur for their technical expertise.”
The patient was admitted to the hospital a few months ago to prepare him for the operation. The government signed a MoU with Shija Hospitals, a Manipur-based hospital with experience in transplants, and the patient’s mother donated her kidney for the transplant. The entire five-and-a-half-hour-long operation was supervised by Dr. Guliver Potsangbam, a nephrologist from Shija Hospital.
Key medical personnel from GB Pant and AGMC, including Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr. Kanak Chowdhury, urologists Dr. Bijit Lodh and Dr. Mukut Debnath, and nephrologists Dr. Manas Gope and Dr. Samaresh Pal, were involved in the operation.
The Chief Minister stated that due to the sincere efforts of the current government, important operations such as kidney transplants have commenced in the state today. The state government has signed an agreement with Shija Hospital and Research Center for kidney transplantation in the state. Furthermore, due to the development of health services in the state, successful surgeries for many complex diseases are now possible. He emphasized that the state government is working transparently in all aspects to address the people's problems. FD JK