First-ever cadaveric kidney transplant performed in Bangladesh

The kidneys of a patient, who was clinically dead, were successfully transplanted into two patients on Wednesday night by medical professionals at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Dhaka.

One of the surgeons claimed that it was the first kidney transplant from a cadaver in the country’s medical history.

They removed Sara Islam's kidneys, a 20-year-old woman in the intensive care unit who was declared clinically dead on Wednesday afternoon, after getting her mother's approval for the treatment.

Sara was admitted to the hospital four days previously, according to Habibur Rahman Dulal, a professor of urology at BSMMU who led the surgery team.

Habibur Rahman, "We called it organ transplantation from cadavers. It is the first of its kind in our country. The health of both receivers is well."

The BSMMU administration will provide more information at a press conference this afternoon.

Kidney transplants from living donors were first performed in the country in 1982. However, if a person was clinically dead, it was against the law to remove their kidney.

In 2018, the legislation governing organ donation was modified to allow relatives' consent before collecting an individual's clinically dead organs.