World Organ Donation Day: When Did India Perform Its First Organ Transplant?

Organ donation can give a person with end-stage organ failure a second chance at life. Every donated kidney, liver, heart, lung or other transplantable organ can potentially save or significantly improve the life of someone waiting for a transplant.

But India's organ transplant journey did not begin with today's advanced transplant centres. It started several decades ago with pioneering surgeries, some of which were unsuccessful but helped doctors gain experience and develop transplant medicine in the country.

So, when did the first organ transplant happen in India?

India's First Human Organ Transplant Was A Kidney Transplant

According to the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), India's first human organ transplant was a deceased-donor kidney transplant performed in May 1965 at King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Mumbai. The procedure was carried out by Dr PK Sen and his team.

The kidney was taken from a deceased donor and transplanted into a patient with hypernephroma, a type of kidney cancer. The transplanted kidney initially functioned, but the patient died 10 days later following a heart attack.

Although the transplant was not ultimately successful, it was an important milestone in India's medical history. It showed that organ transplantation could be attempted in the country and paved the way for further advances.

What Happened After The First Attempt?

Another deceased-donor kidney transplant was carried out at KEM Hospital in 1966. Unfortunately, the recipient died three days after the surgery from pneumonia and sepsis. Other deceased-donor kidney transplant attempts were also made during this period, according to a report published in the Medical Journal Armed Forces India.

These early experiences highlighted the enormous challenges involved in transplantation, particularly preventing organ rejection and managing complications after surgery.

At the time, transplant medicine was still developing globally. Doctors were learning how to match donors and recipients, control the immune system, and prevent infections after transplantation.

The First Successful Kidney Transplant Came In 1971

Major breakthrough came on 2 February 1971, when doctors at Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, performed India's first successful living-donor kidney transplant.

According to a report published in the Indian Journal of Nephrology, the surgery was led by Dr Mohan Rao and Dr K V Johny. The procedure marked the beginning of a more successful era of kidney transplantation in India.

Unlike the 1965 procedure, this was a living-donor transplant, in which a healthy person donated a kidney to the recipient.

The success of the surgery encouraged other medical centres to develop kidney transplant programmes.

How Did Organ Transplantation Expand In India?

Following the success at CMC Vellore, kidney transplantation gradually expanded to other parts of the country.

In 1972, AIIMS New Delhi performed a renal transplant. PGIMER Chandigarh began its kidney transplant programme in 1974, while Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai also started performing living-donor kidney transplants that year.

Over the following decades, advances in surgery, immunosuppressive medicines, intensive care and organ preservation helped improve transplant outcomes.

India eventually expanded beyond kidney transplantation to include organs such as the liver, heart, lungs and pancreas.

What About India's First Deceased-Donor Heart Transplant?

India's transplant history includes another major milestone in 1994.

According to NOTTO's transplant manual and annual report, the country's first deceased-donor heart transplant was performed on 3 August 1994. The procedure also became an important milestone in India's deceased-donor organ transplantation programme.

The same year, Parliament passed the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, which established a legal framework for organ transplantation and aimed to regulate the removal, storage and transplantation of human organs. The law was later amended to include tissues, according to a report published by the Haryana Government's Health Department.

Why Is Organ Donation Important?

A person with irreversible organ failure may have limited treatment options. For some patients, transplantation can offer the possibility of longer survival and a better quality of life.

• One deceased donor may be able to help several recipients because different organs and tissues can potentially be donated when medically suitable.
• Organ donation can involve both living donation and deceased donation. A living person may be able to donate certain organs, such as one kidney, under strict medical and legal safeguards.
• Deceased donation can involve organs being recovered after brain-stem death, with the required consent and medical assessment.

Final Word

India's first human organ transplant was a deceased-donor kidney transplant at KEM Hospital, Mumbai, in May 1965. Although the recipient did not survive, the procedure marked the beginning of India's transplant journey. The country's first successful living-donor kidney transplant followed on 2 February 1971 at CMC Vellore.

From those early and challenging operations to today's advanced transplant centres, India's journey shows how medical innovation, research and organ donation can turn the possibility of a second chance at life into reality.