Nepal Achieves Historic Medical Milestone with Third Kidney Transplant on a Single Patient

In a historic medical achievement for Nepal, a team of surgeons at the Shahid Dharmabhakta National Transplant Center in Bhaktapur has successfully performed a third kidney transplant on a single patient. This is the first time such a complex procedure has been completed in the country.

At a press conference today, the center’s Executive Director, Dr. Pukar Chandra Shrestha, announced that the patient, former Sudurpaschim Province Minister Laxman Kishor Chaudhary, was discharged today following the successful operation on September 2, 2025. 

According to Dr. Shrestha, a third transplant is extremely rare and technically challenging due to previous surgeries, complex medicinal needs, and the difficulty of finding a compatible donor. He noted that the success of this procedure demonstrates Nepal’s growing capability in performing highly complex transplants. Dr. Shrestha, who has experience with such high-risk procedures from his time in the UK, stated that his prior experience was crucial in making this surgery possible in Nepal.

Chaudhary’s first kidney transplant was performed in Lucknow, India. His second and third transplants were both led by Dr. Shrestha at the Shahid Dharmabhakta National Transplant Center. The most recent transplant was conducted under a “paired exchange” system, where organs were swapped between two non-related donor-recipient pairs.

The center also highlighted that Dr. Shrestha pioneered the first second-kidney transplant in Nepal at Bir Hospital back in 2010. Over the past 13 years, the Shahid Dharmabhakta National Transplant Center has successfully performed 1,502 kidney transplants and 35 liver transplants, cementing its reputation as a leading transplant institution in the region.