Father donates kidney to daughter in first successful rural transplant in Andhra Pradesh

Visakhapatnam: In a remarkable rural medical achievement in Andhra Pradesh, a 53-year-old father donated a kidney to his daughter. Hemasri, a 23-year-old woman, developed kidney failure after childbirth and had been on dialysis for the past five months. Her father voluntarily came forward for the donation, and after testing, was found to be a suitable donor. The kidney research centre and super specialty hospital at Palasa, in Srikakulam district, performed the kidney transplantation, setting a new record.The surgery, which took nearly five hours, was conducted under the supervision of hospital mentor Dr T Ravi Raju. The nephrology team included Dr Sharath Jyotsna and Dr Rakesh, while the surgical team comprised Dr Ch Umamaheswar Rao, Dr P Purnachandra Rao, and Dr M Vivekananda.Health minister Satyakumar Yadav congratulated the medical team. Dr Ravi Raju informed the minister that, following the kidney transplant performed on Friday in Palasa — an area surrounded by hills and valleys — both father and daughter are recovering well. He said this is the first successful kidney transplant in the state to be performed in a rural setting, specifically in a region inhabited by tribal communities. The minister assured that the govt would continue to fully support such initiatives.