Archive · 9 Aug 2026
AIIMS-Delhi performs dual kidney transplant from 70-year-old donor
Doctors at a big hospital in India called AIIMS did a special operation to help a sick person get new kidneys.
Kidneys are organs that clean our blood.
A 70-year-old woman's brain had stopped working, which doctors call brain death, so her organs could be given to help someone else.
The doctors decided to use both of her kidneys for a single patient.
Normally, one donor might give one kidney to one patient.
Because the donor was older, the doctors carefully planned to give both kidneys to one person to make the best use of them.
The kidneys were brought quickly from another city in an Army helicopter so they would stay fresh.
The patient who received them was a 56-year-old woman, and both kidneys started working right away.
She stayed in the hospital for ten days and then went home healthy.
This was the second time AIIMS-Delhi did this kind of transplant, and it helps more people with serious kidney disease get treatment.
AIIMS-Delhi performed its second dual kidney transplant, using both kidneys from a marginal donor into a single recipient.
The donor was a 70-year-old woman declared brain dead at Command Hospital, Chandimandir, Chandigarh, considered marginal due to her advanced age.
The kidneys were transported from Chandigarh to Delhi by an Army helicopter for the surgery.
Despite around 12 hours of cold ischaemia time, both kidneys started functioning immediately after transplantation in the 56-year-old female recipient.
The recipient recovered uneventfully and was discharged after 10 days with normal kidney function, highlighting a strategy to expand the deceased-donor pool.
- Who
- Doctors at AIIMS-Delhi, led by Dr Asuri Krishna, along with the recipient, a 56-year-old woman, and the donor, a 70-year-old brain-dead woman.
- What
- A dual kidney transplant in which both kidneys from a marginal, 70-year-old donor were transplanted into a single recipient.
- When
- The surgery was performed on July 28; the news was reported on August 9.
- Where
- AIIMS-Delhi, with the donor organs retrieved at Command Hospital, Chandimandir, Chandigarh, and transported to New Delhi.
- Why
- To maximise use of available donor organs, expand the deceased-donor pool, and provide kidney transplantation to more patients with end-stage kidney disease.
- Hospital
- AIIMS-Delhi (Department of Surgical Disciplines with Nephrology, Anaesthesia, Transplant Immunology and ORBO)
- Procedure
- Second dual kidney transplant at AIIMS-Delhi from a marginal donor
- Donor
- 70-year-old woman declared brain dead (marginal/expanded criteria donor)
- Recipient
- 56-year-old woman; both kidneys implanted on the right side
- Surgery date
- July 28
- Cold ischaemia time
- Around 12 hours
- Organ transport
- Chandigarh to Delhi by Army helicopter
- Recovery
- Discharged after 10 days with normal kidney function