For the first time in Nepal, a kidney and liver transplant from a brain-dead person has been successfully performed in the same person. The organs of 18-year-old Dorjeman Tamang, who was declared ‘brain dead’ during treatment after a car accident, have been removed and transplanted. One of his kidneys and liver were transplanted to a man, and the other kidney was transplanted to a 42-year-old woman, according to the National Transplant Center.
A team led by KMC senior surgeon Dr. Roshan Ghimire removed the organs from Dorjeman’s body. Then, at the Shahid Dharmabhakta National Transplant Center, Bhaktapur, a team led by Dr. Pukar Chandra Shrestha performed the transplant. The health of both patients who received organs is improving, Dr. Shrestha informed.
The young man’s family has stated that they are ready to donate their organs because they have lost a family member, as they believe that their organs could save someone else’s life. Shiva Maharjan, who received Dorjeman’s liver and kidneys, said via teleconference that the ‘great donation’ from the young man’s family saved his life.
At a press conference organized by the National Transplant Center on Sunday, Dr. Shrestha said that for the first time, a Nepali doctors team successfully transplanted a kidney and liver from a brain-dead person into the same person. He said that Nepal could become self-sufficient in organ transplantation if its organs could be harvested and transplanted, as four to six people die every day from road accidents in Nepal and about one thousand people die of brain damage annually in the Kathmandu Valley alone. Doctors say that from one brain-dead person, organs can be transplanted into eight people, including two kidneys, two lungs, one liver, one heart, one pancreas, and one small intestine each. It is often a problem because the transplant must be completed in a short period of time with the consent of family members.
