PGIMER team saves 2 lives with liver and pancreas transplant

Raghu Paswan, 42, was admitted to the AIIMS-Rishikesh on January 16, 2026, after sustaining critical injuries following a fall from a two-storey building. He suffered severe traumatic brain injury and, despite all possible medical interventions, was declared brain-dead. Rising above grief, the family made the courageous decision to donate his organs, offering hope and life to multiple patients awaiting transplants across the country.

Following this noble decision, organ allocation was carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOA), 1994. The liver, one kidney, and pancreas were allocated to the PGIMER, Chandigarh; one kidney to the AIIMS, New Delhi; the heart to Army Hospital, New Delhi; and the lungs to Apollo Hospital, Chennai, extending the donor’s legacy of life across multiple regions of India. A dedicated PGIMER liver transplant team undertook an urgent organ retrieval and transplant mission involving overnight road travel and a marathon surgical procedure, saving a critically ill patient.

Highlighting the surgical and logistical challenges, Prof L Kaman, head, Department of General Surgery, PGIMER, remarked that for the first time, a liver was transported by road from the AIIMS-Rishikesh to the PGIMER to minimise ischemia time.

Prof Ashish Sharma, head, Renal Transplant, PGIMER, said, “There are only a handful of pancreas transplant programmes in the country, whereas there are a lot of patients with diabetes and kidney failure. The pancreas is an extremely time-sensitive organ where retrieval and transplantation have to be completed within the 12-hour window. Here we were stretched to the limit, given the distances involved, but we eventually could complete the surgery within that time frame by segregating teams. The pancreas was transplanted into a 28-year-old woman who was struggling with diabetes and had been on multiple daily injections of insulin since the age of eight, and is showing complete signs of recovery.”

Coordinating the complex multi-state logistics, Dr (Maj) R P S Bhogal, Associate Professor, Department of Hospital Administration, PGIMER, stated, “This mission was a test of real-time coordination under extreme pressure. Synchronising multiple transplant teams, ensuring uninterrupted inter-state movement, and navigating adverse weather demanded flawless administrative and on-ground support. A special mention must be made of Sanjiv Kumar, Security Officer, PGI, who went out of his way to coordinate with Superintendents of Police across multiple districts when one convoy vehicle lagged, ensuring seamless movement. The exemplary cooperation extended by state administrations, traffic police, NOTTO, ROTTO North, and hospital authorities enabled timely green corridors and flawless execution. Without such collective resolve, this time-critical organ transfer would not have been possible.”