T'gana govt's NIMS achieves key milestone of 2,000 kidney transplants

The state-run NIMS has achieved a significant milestone as its Urology team completed 2,000 kidney transplants this month, making it one of the highest in the country.

The Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) has been ranked the number one institution in South India for kidney transplant surgery, an official release said on Friday.

The Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) in Gujarat holds top rank in kidney transplants in the country, followed by Christian Medical College in Ludhiana and the NIMS stands at the third position, it said.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy congratulated the NIMS medical team for achieving the milestone and for rendering exceptional service to patients suffering from kidney ailments.

Out of 2,000 patients, 1,900 people (95 per cent) underwent kidney transplant operations free of cost under the government's Rajiv Aarogyasri scheme and the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

The institute has already set a record by performing 500 kidney transplants within a span of just three years and four months (from January 2023, when the Congress government assumed office), the release said.

NIMS Director Bheerappa Nagari thanked CM Reddy and Health Minister C Damodar Raja Narasimha for their constant support to the kidney transplant programme in NIMS.

The first kidney transplant by the department of urology of the NIMS was performed in 1989. Since then, it has evolved into one of the most significant transplant programmes in the government health care setup in the country, combining experience, affordability, and teamwork, the NIMS said in a release.

Between 1989 and 2010, NIMS performed 448 renal transplants, 552 transplants from 2011 to June 2017, followed by 500 transplants between June 2017 and January 2023.

However, actual acceleration in the programme came when the last 500 transplants were done within three years and four months, it said.

In the journey of 2,000 renal transplants, the urology team has performed several complicated renal transplant surgeries, such as transplant in multiple renal vessels with complicated anastomosis, pediatric renal transplant, and redo transplant in a patient with a previously failed transplant.

The urology team has achieved another significant milestone in 2025, when it performed the first robotic renal transplant in a government setting in South India, underlining its commitment to innovation in public-sector hospitals like NIMS, the release said.

Other than kidney transplant surgeries, NIMS Urology team performs around 11,000 other urology surgeries in a year, which includes more than 500 robotic surgeries in less than three years.

The kidney transplant programme was headed by Rahul Devraj, senior professor and head of the department of urology in NIMS.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)