The 200th Kidney Transplant

25 May 22

The 200th kidney transplant was performed in “Arabkir” MC: 200 saved lives with the efforts and devotion of donors and doctors. 
The first kidney transplant here was performed in May, 1991. The idea of the program came to professor Ara Babloyan after the earthquake, when many people, including children, who were left under the ruins, needed hemodialysis. However, hemodialysis could not be the final solution to that problem, especially in children; it affects the quality of life. Transplantation is considered a much more effective and guaranteed approach.

The kidney transplant is performed by a multidisciplinary team. First, after discussing and taking into consideration medical, psychological and other aspects, the patient - donor pair is chosen, then the actual operation takes place. Surgeons work in two operating rooms in parallel. In the first operating room they take the organ from the donor, and in the second one they place it in the recipient՚s body. Then post-operative care and follow-up care of recipients starts. By the way, the Recipient՚s follow-up care department in “Arabkir” MC is the only one in Armenia. Currently, 180 patients are registered here, most of them - 163, with transplanted kidney, 16 with transplanted liver and one with transplanted heart.

The video provides additional information about kidney transplant: patients tell about preoperative, surgical and postoperative periods, mentioning that the most important things in this difficult path are trusting in their doctors and the will to solve the problem together.