AIIMS Raipur has achieved a significant medical milestone by successfully performing its first Swap Kidney Transplant, marking a breakthrough in renal transplantation in Chhattisgarh. The procedure, also known as Kidney Paired Donation (KPD), was conducted on March 15, 2025, and involved two patients suffering from end-stage renal disease who had incompatible donors.
The transplant team at AIIMS Raipur devised an innovative solution by swapping the donors between two patient-donor pairs, ensuring blood group compatibility and enabling both recipients to receive life-saving kidneys. The surgery was performed by a multidisciplinary team of nephrologists, transplant surgeons, anesthesiologists, and transplant coordinators, with all four individuals—both donors and recipients—recovering well in the Transplant ICU.
This achievement makes AIIMS Raipur the first government hospital in Chhattisgarh and the first among the newer AIIMS institutions to successfully carry out a swap transplant. The procedure is expected to increase kidney transplant rates by up to 15%, addressing the shortage of organ donors in India.
Recognizing the potential of swap transplants, the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) has recommended the implementation of a “One Nation, One Swap Transplant Programme” to facilitate such procedures across states. AIIMS Raipur has also emerged as a leader in deceased donor organ transplantation, having conducted 54 kidney transplants in the last two years with a 95% graft survival rate and a 97% patient survival rate.
With this pioneering effort, AIIMS Raipur continues to advance healthcare in Chhattisgarh, offering hope to patients battling chronic kidney disease.
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