Delhi: 47-Year-old man undergoes rare kidney transplant, now lives with five kidneys

Delhi: A 47-year-old man has undergone a rare third kidney transplant at a private hospital here, leaving him with a total of five kidneys in his body.

A surgery was performed at Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, on Devendra Barlewar, scientist at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO),who had been battling chronic kidney disease for 15 years and had undergone two failed transplants in 2010 and 2012.

Dr Ahmed Kamaal, Senior Consultant, Urology, said the patient’s condition worsened further after COVID-19 complications in 2022.

However, when a 50-year-old brain-dead farmer’s family decided to donate his kidneys, hope emerged for Barlewar.

The four-hour-long surgery, conducted last month, posed significant medical challenges due to the presence of four non-functioning kidneys — two native and two previously transplanted ones, Kamaal said in a statement.

He explained that the multiple existing kidneys increased the risk of immune rejection, requiring specialised immunosuppression protocols before the procedure.

Dr. Anil Sharma, Senior Consultant, Urology, highlighted the surgical complexities, saying, “We faced space constraints due to the patient’s thin build and an existing incisional hernia.”

“Since previous surgeries had already used the standard blood vessels, we had to connect the new kidney to the largest abdominal blood vessels, making it a highly intricate procedure,” he said.

Despite the challenges, the transplant was successful, and the patient was discharged within ten days with stable kidney function.

Speaking about patient’s condition, Sharma said that Barlewar’s creatinine levels normalised within two weeks, allowing him to live dialysis-free.

Expressing his gratitude, Barlewar said, that he had lost hope after two failed transplants.

He said that dialysis had severely restricted his life, but the at Amrita Hospital gave him another chance when no one else did.

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He added that today, he can perform daily activities independently, and his overall health has also improved.