Chandigarh, September 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Punjab’s Government Medical College (GMC), Patiala, has successfully performed its first-ever kidney transplant, marking a major milestone in the state’s public healthcare system and making it the first state-run medical college in Punjab to achieve the feat.
The transplant was performed on September 10, 2026, Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education and Research Minister Dr Balbir Singh said at a press conference at Punjab Bhawan here on Tuesday.
The development follows the successful liver transplant services established at the Punjab Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (PILBS), Mohali, and marks another significant expansion of advanced organ-transplant care in Punjab’s government healthcare system.
Dr Balbir Singh said the entire treatment and transplant procedure were provided free of cost under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana (MMSY), resulting in no out-of-pocket expenditure for the patient’s family. He said the same procedure in private healthcare facilities generally costs between ₹8 lakh and ₹12 lakh.
“This marks a transformative chapter in Punjab’s public medical history, bringing advanced, life-saving organ transplant care directly within the reach of the common man,” the minister said.
The recipient, a 37-year-old resident of Romana Patti, Namol, in Sangrur district, had been suffering from kidney failure caused by Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis (MPGN). He had been undergoing maintenance haemodialysis three times a week since December 2025.
After undergoing the required medical evaluations, his 29-year-old wife voluntarily donated a kidney for the transplant. Dr Balbir Singh said both the donor and recipient were clinically stable, doing well and recovering under close postoperative monitoring in the dedicated Transplant ICU.
During the press conference, the minister interacted with the patient and his donor wife through a video call to enquire about their health and recovery.
Dr Balbir Singh congratulated the transplant team led by Prof. Sarbpreet Singh, with Prof. HBS Sandhu and Dr Supran Sharma, as well as the nephrology team headed by Dr Thakurveer Kohli. He also acknowledged the anaesthesia team led by Dr Tanveer Kundra and Director Principal and HOD Medicine Dr RPS Sibia for their contribution to the programme.
The minister also expressed gratitude to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, particularly Director Prof. Vivek Lal and Prof. Ashish Sharma, Head of Renal Transplant Surgery and ROTTO-North. He also thanked PGIMER’s Department of Immunopathology for providing mentorship, hands-on training, technical guidance and on-site surgical supervision in establishing the renal transplant programme at GMC Patiala.
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