Kidney Transplant at KIMS Secunderabad — 1,500+ Procedures, Every Type, Every Patient
At a glance — KIMS Kidney Transplant Programme
- Total transplants performed: Over 1,500 kidney transplants — one of South India's highest volumes
- Transplant types: Live Related Donor · Live Unrelated Donor (Ethics Committee approved) · Deceased Donor (Cadaveric) · ABO-Incompatible · Paired Kidney Exchange (Swap)
- NOTTO registration: KIMS is NOTTO-registered — patients can be listed for deceased donor kidneys on the national organ allocation network
- TSTA empanelment: Telangana State Transplant Authority empanelled — full legal compliance for all transplant types
- Operating theatre: Class-100 Laminar Flow operation theatres — the highest infection control standard for transplant surgery
- Same team, entire journey: The KIMS nephrology team manages the patient through dialysis, transplant evaluation, surgery, and lifelong post-transplant immunosuppression monitoring
- Insurance coverage: Aarogyasri (PMJAY) · CGHS · EHS · All major private TPA insurance — one of the few transplant centres with full government scheme coverage
- Appointments: 040 - 44885000 · assistance@kimshospitals.com
Why kidney transplant is the best long-term option for kidney failure
If you or a family member is on dialysis for kidney failure, you already know what dialysis means: three sessions a week, four to five hours each time, fluid restrictions, dietary restrictions, and a quality of life that is a fraction of what it was before. A successful kidney transplant changes all of this. The transplanted kidney filters blood continuously — 24 hours a day, seven days a week — the way a healthy kidney does. Fluid restrictions ease. Diet opens up. Energy returns. Most transplant recipients describe the transition as returning to life. Planning for transplant begins at Stage 4 of CKD. PKD is a major transplant indication as well.
At KIMS Secunderabad, over 1,500 kidney transplants have been performed — live donor, deceased donor, ABO-incompatible, and paired exchange (swap) transplants — making KIMS one of South India's most experienced kidney transplant centres. The same nephrology team that manages a patient through dialysis continues to manage them through transplant evaluation, the transplant itself, and the lifelong immunosuppression monitoring that follows.
If you have been told that your blood group does not match your donor's — and that a transplant is therefore not possible — this is not accurate. KIMS performs ABO-incompatible kidney transplants, which allow transplantation between donors and recipients with mismatched blood groups through a structured pre-conditioning protocol. A blood group mismatch is not the end of the road.
Types of kidney transplant at KIMS
Live Related Donor Transplant
The most common transplant type in India. A family member — spouse, sibling, parent, child, or other close relative — donates one of their two kidneys. Living donor transplants have the best long-term outcomes of any transplant type, because the kidney is from a living person (better quality and function than deceased donor kidneys), the surgery is planned and elective (not emergency), and the recipient can be prepared optimally before transplant.
The donor undergoes a thorough evaluation — kidney function tests, CT angiography to assess the blood supply anatomy of both kidneys, cardiac and pulmonary evaluation, and psychological assessment — to confirm that donation is safe and that the donor will retain full kidney function from the remaining kidney. The KIMS transplant team never pressures a potential donor. The evaluation is independent, and the decision to donate must be entirely voluntary.
- Donor recovery: Laparoscopic (keyhole) donor nephrectomy — small incisions, 1–2 night hospital stay, return to normal activity within 2–4 weeks
- Recipient surgery: 2–3 hours · Transplanted kidney placed in the lower abdomen · Typically begins producing urine within hours to days
- Hospital stay (recipient): 10–14 nights post-operatively for wound healing and immunosuppression initiation
Deceased Donor (Cadaveric) Transplant
When no suitable living donor is available, a deceased donor kidney — from a brain-dead individual whose family has consented to donation — can be transplanted. KIMS is NOTTO-registered (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation), meaning KIMS patients can be listed on the national deceased donor waiting list. Deceased donor kidneys are allocated by NOTTO based on blood group compatibility, waiting time, and medical urgency. Deceased donor transplants require emergency surgery within 24 to 36 hours of organ retrieval.
ABO-Incompatible Kidney Transplant
In a standard transplant, donor and recipient must share a compatible blood group (O donors can give to any group; A to A or AB; B to B or AB; AB only to AB). When blood groups are mismatched, the recipient's immune system will mount an immediate, powerful rejection response — historically making the transplant impossible. Through a pre-conditioning protocol developed over the last two decades — rituximab infusion to deplete B-cells that produce the anti-blood-group antibodies, followed by plasmapheresis sessions to physically remove circulating anti-A or anti-B antibodies — ABO-incompatible transplants are now performed with outcomes approaching compatible transplants at experienced centres.
If your potential donor has a different blood group — for example, you are blood group A and your willing donor is blood group B — a transplant is still possible at KIMS. An ABO-incompatible evaluation appointment will assess the antibody levels (isoagglutinin titres), the pre-conditioning protocol required, and the expected outcome for your specific mismatch. Call 040 - 44885000.
Paired Kidney Exchange (Swap Transplant)
In a swap transplant, two incompatible donor-recipient pairs exchange kidneys with each other. For example: Patient A needs a transplant, and their willing donor (Donor 1) is incompatible. Patient B also needs a transplant, and their willing donor (Donor 2) is also incompatible with Patient B — but Donor 2 is compatible with Patient A, and Donor 1 is compatible with Patient B. The two pairs agree to swap donors, and both transplants are performed simultaneously. Swap transplants allow transplantation for patients who would otherwise have no compatible donor. KIMS coordinates swap transplants with the TSTA-approved paired kidney exchange programme.
The kidney transplant process at KIMS — from evaluation to recovery
| Stage | What happens at KIMS |
|---|---|
| 1 — Transplant Evaluation (Recipient) | Complete blood workup · eGFR, crossmatch, HLA typing · Cardiac evaluation (ECG, echo) · Chest X-ray · Hepatitis B, C, HIV, CMV screening · Urology assessment of bladder function (cystoscopy if indicated) · Psychosocial assessment · Transplant committee review and approval |
| 2 — Donor Evaluation | Blood group · Kidney function · CT angiography of donor kidneys · Cardiac and pulmonary fitness · Psychological assessment · TSTA ethical committee clearance for live unrelated donors |
| 3 — Pre-operative preparation | Dialysis session day before surgery to optimise electrolytes · Immunosuppression induction dose (basiliximab induction) · Surgical site preparation |
| 4 — Surgery | 2–3 hours under general anaesthesia · Transplanted kidney placed retroperitoneally in the right iliac fossa (lower abdomen) · Donor renal artery and vein anastomosed to recipient iliac vessels · Ureter connected to bladder · Class-100 Laminar Flow OT |
| 5 — Immediate post-operative | Intensive monitoring for 48–72 hours · Urine output monitoring every hour · Immunosuppression initiation (tacrolimus + mycophenolate mofetil + prednisolone — the standard triple therapy) · Creatinine trend monitored daily |
| 6 — Hospital stay | 10–14 days · Wound care · Immunosuppression dose adjustment · Patient and family education on medication compliance |
| 7 — Early post-discharge follow-up | Week 1 to Month 3: Weekly clinic visits for blood tests, tacrolimus levels, creatinine · Month 3 to 12: Fortnightly · After 1 year: Monthly |
| 8 — Lifelong monitoring | Annual kidney biopsy (surveillance) · Skin cancer screening from 5 years post-transplant · Bone density, cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar monitoring — all managed by the KIMS transplant nephrology team |
Why choose KIMS for kidney transplant?
1,500+ transplants — volume matters in transplant surgery
Transplant outcomes are directly correlated with centre volume. KIMS's 1,500+ transplants represent one of the highest volumes in South India — building the surgical expertise, complication management experience, and post-transplant protocol refinement that only comes from doing a large number of cases.
ABO-incompatible and swap transplants — no donor is automatically excluded
Many patients are told their blood group mismatch makes transplant impossible. KIMS performs ABO-incompatible transplants — and coordinates swap (paired exchange) transplants — ensuring that a blood group mismatch or single-donor incompatibility is not the end of the road.
NOTTO registration — access to the national deceased donor list
For patients without a suitable live donor, NOTTO registration lists them for deceased donor kidneys allocated nationally. Without a NOTTO-registered centre, this option is unavailable.
Class-100 Laminar Flow operation theatres
Transplant surgery carries significant infection risk — the recipient's immune system is suppressed. Class-100 Laminar Flow OTs filter and circulate air to maintain near-sterile conditions, reducing the risk of surgical site infection to the lowest achievable level.
Continuous care — same nephrology team throughout
The KIMS nephrologist who manages a patient on haemodialysis before transplant continues to manage them through the transplant workup, the surgery, and the post-transplant immunosuppression programme indefinitely. This continuity of knowledge — knowing the patient's history, comorbidities, and medication responses — produces safer immunosuppression management and earlier detection of complications.
Aarogyasri, CGHS, and EHS — government scheme coverage
Kidney transplant under Aarogyasri (PMJAY) is available at KIMS — one of the few transplant centres in Telangana empanelled under all three major government health schemes. For families who would otherwise be unable to afford transplant, this is the difference between dialysis for life and a transplant.
Our kidney transplant team at KIMS Secunderabad
FAQ SECTION
In India, the following people can legally donate a kidney to you during their lifetime: first-degree relatives (parents, siblings, children, spouse — no committee approval needed for blood relatives); near relatives (grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, cousins — with Ethics Committee approval); and in special circumstances, an altruistic unrelated donor (requires full TSTA Ethics Committee approval and thorough psychosocial evaluation to confirm the donation is voluntary and uncoerced). At KIMS, every potential donor undergoes full medical and psychological evaluation before donation is approved. Organ sale is illegal in India — any arrangement where money changes hands in connection with a transplant is a criminal offence.
A blood group mismatch does not automatically exclude transplant. KIMS performs ABO-incompatible kidney transplants — where the donor and recipient have incompatible blood groups — through a structured pre-conditioning protocol. This involves a rituximab infusion to deplete the B-cells producing the anti-blood-group antibodies, followed by plasmapheresis sessions to remove circulating antibodies, and immunoadsorption in some cases. The goal is to reduce the isoagglutinin titre to a safe threshold before transplant. KIMS also coordinates swap (paired exchange) transplants, where two incompatible pairs exchange donors to achieve compatible transplants. Call 040 - 44885000 to discuss ABO-incompatible options.
Deceased donor kidney waiting times in India are determined by NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation) and depend on blood group, waiting time, and medical urgency — not by the hospital. KIMS is NOTTO-registered, allowing patients to be listed on the national waiting list. Blood group O recipients typically wait longer than other groups, as O kidneys are scarce and in highest demand. Waiting times in Telangana vary but are typically measured in months to years. Having a willing live donor — compatible or ABO-incompatible — significantly shortens the path to transplant compared to the deceased donor list.
Yes — kidney transplant is covered under Aarogyasri (PMJAY) at KIMS Secunderabad. KIMS is empanelled under Aarogyasri, CGHS, and EHS. The Aarogyasri package for kidney transplant covers the surgical procedure and defined post-operative care. KIMS billing team can confirm current package rates, what is covered, and what — if any — out-of-pocket contribution applies for the specific transplant type. Contact 040 - 44885000 or visit the KIMS billing desk with your Aarogyasri card and relevant medical documents.
No — in the vast majority of kidney transplants, the patient's own kidneys are left in place and the transplanted kidney is placed in a new position — the lower abdomen on the right side, in the retroperitoneal space (behind the abdominal muscles). The transplanted kidney's blood vessels are connected to the iliac artery and vein, and the ureter is connected to the bladder. The patient's native kidneys, sitting higher up near the spine, are left in their original position unless there is a specific reason to remove them (such as uncontrolled hypertension from a polycystic kidney, or a native kidney that is a source of recurrent infection). The surgery takes 2 to 3 hours under general anaesthesia.
Average 1-year graft survival rates for kidney transplants in India at experienced centres are above 95%. The long-term graft survival depends primarily on the immunosuppression protocol adherence, blood pressure control, blood glucose control (diabetes accelerates graft loss), and avoidance of nephrotoxic medications. A well-functioning kidney transplant from a live related donor lasts a median of 15 to 20 years in most studies — with many functioning well beyond 20 years. If a transplanted kidney eventually fails, a second transplant can be considered. The KIMS transplant team monitors graft function actively at every follow-up to detect and treat rejection early, before irreversible damage occurs.
Immunosuppression medications must be taken every day, without exception, for as long as the transplanted kidney is functioning — potentially for the rest of your life. The standard triple therapy at KIMS is: tacrolimus (twice daily, blood levels monitored), mycophenolate mofetil or mycophenolate sodium (twice daily), and low-dose prednisolone (once daily — dose progressively reduced over the first 6 months). Additional medications include: co-trimoxazole (antibiotic prophylaxis for the first 6–12 months), valganciclovir (antiviral prophylaxis if CMV risk is present), antifungal prophylaxis (first month), bone protection (calcium and vitamin D), and blood pressure and cholesterol management. Medication compliance is the single most important factor in long-term graft survival.
KIMS Secunderabad has performed over 1,500 kidney transplants — one of South India's highest volumes — with Class-100 Laminar Flow operation theatres, a full spectrum of transplant types (live related, deceased donor, ABO-incompatible, swap), and NOTTO registration for deceased donor access. KIMS is one of the few transplant centres in Telangana empanelled under Aarogyasri, CGHS, and EHS — making transplant accessible for patients covered by government health schemes. The same nephrology team manages every patient from dialysis through transplant to lifelong post-transplant monitoring. KIMS is NABH and NABL accredited, TSTA empanelled, and Times Healthcare Nephrology Award winner.