Lucknow, Aug. 25 -- A major step towards expanding advanced organ transplant services beyond Lucknow has been achieved with doctors from Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) helping conduct the first successful kidney transplant at SN Medical College, Agra. According to SGPGIMS Department of Nephrology head Dr Narayan Prasad, the state is rolling out kidney transplantation facilities at government medical colleges in a phased manner under the direction of the state government. "Following the successful launch at Agra, kidney transplantation at Kanpur Medical College is expected to begin within a month. The preparations related to the transplant programme have been completed," he said. The move is expected to strengthen the state's public-sector transplant network and provide patients suffering from end-stage kidney disease access to transplantation closer to home. A 32-year-old man suffering from severe kidney disease and dependent on dialysis for a prolonged period received a new kidney donated by his wife. The transplant was performed on Sunday by a joint team of doctors from SGPGIMS and SN Medical College. Both the recipient and donor are recovering and their condition is reported to be stable. The transplanted kidney has started functioning. The procedure is significant as it marks the beginning of a kidney transplant programme at the Agra govt medical college, potentially reducing the need for critically ill patients in western Uttar Pradesh to travel to Lucknow or other major centres for transplantation. The treatment and transplant expenses of the patient were covered under a government-funded healthcare scheme, making the advanced procedure accessible without the financial burden normally associated with organ transplantation. The transplant was carried out under the leadership of SN Medical College principal and dean Dr Prashant Gupta and Dr Apoorva Jain, head of the Department of Nephrology. The SGPGIMS team included Dr MS Ansari, head of the Department of Urology, Dr Sanjay Surekha and Dr Ashish Ranjan from Urology; Dr Manas Ranjan Behera from Nephrology; and Dr Tapas Kumar Singh and Dr Bonchanpalli Mohan Kumar from Anaesthesia. The donor-wife underwent the required medical evaluations before being cleared for donation. Doctors then performed the transplant on her husband, who had been undergoing regular dialysis because of severe kidney failure. Director SGPGIMS Dr Radha Krishna Dhiman said, "The successful procedure at Agra is being seen as an important milestone in the government's plan to decentralise organ transplantation services and build transplant capacity in govt medical colleges across UP."...