NUDCH Performs First Family Kidney Transplant at Single Facility

Bratislava, 13 June (TASR) - The National Institute of Children's Diseases (NUDCH) has performed Slovakia's first family kidney transplant between a mother and child at a single medical facility, TASR learnt at a press conference held by NUDCH representatives this week. This is the first time that the donor and recipient underwent operations at the same hospital, and it was also the first paediatric transplant in Slovakia in which the donor kidney was removed using the da Vinci robotic system. NUDCH director Peter Barton explained that the surgical procedure was planned well in advance. The mother and daughter remained together throughout the time spent in hospital, and the recipient was discharged nine days after the operation without complications. He also considers the successful transplant to be proof that cutting-edge medical care can be provided thanks to close collaboration among specialists across departments and hospitals. "Professionally speaking, I'm very pleased that we were able to perform this series of surgeries in a manner befitting the 21st century - that is, using state-of-the-art technology. It's also a great benefit for me personally that we have a robotic system at our disposal. When we finished harvesting the kidney from the mother, I completed the job in an almost relaxed state and then proceeded to the second operating room for the transplant," said head of the NUDCH Paediatric Urology ward Jan Breza. The da Vinci system for kidney removal has been used in Slovakia in the past, but this was the first time that an organ removed in this manner has been transplanted into a child. am/df