The Georgetown Public Hospital has successfully completed a series of historic chain kidney transplants – a first not only for Guyana, but also for the Caribbean.

A chain kidney transplant is made up of pairs – a kidney patient in need of a transplant and a donor willing to donate a kidney on their behalf.

In this case, there were a total of four pairs – comprising four donors and four recipients – amounting to a total of eight surgeries.

At a press conference today at GPHC’s Resource Centre, Head of Department, Transplant Surgery, Dr Kishore Persaud said the historic transplants were conducted on September 29 and October 2, 2025 – marking a significant achievement for the country, and giving four persons new leases on life.

 “This achievement involved a four pair chain transplant among four sets of patients who were incompatible, basically because of ABO or what you call a blood group incompatibility or antibodies incompatibility. Or in simpler terms, none of them had a donor who could have donated a kidney to them successfully,” Dr Persaud explained.

He said the transplants’ success was a result of careful planning by a team of local doctors at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

“With experience, meticulous planning and the use of virtual cross matching technique, the team skillfully matched each recipient with a suitable patient or a suitable donor so that they could be transplanted successfully and come off dialysis and lead a productive and healthy life,” he said.

Dr Persaud said Guyana has one of the leading transplant programmes in the Caribbean, explaining that Georgetown Public Hospital is currently the only hospital in the Caribbean that is performing pair exchange transplant and chain kidney transplant.

He said with unwavering commitment and careful planning, the hospital has completed the highest number of transplants when compared to its Caribbean counterparts.

Both the recipients and donors showered Dr Persaud and his team with praises. Samantha Ault is among the beneficiaries. She said the life changing transplant has given her a new lease on life.

“I was suffering with kidney disease, and that was over two years I was taking dialysis and I was not aware of transplant up until I was hospitalized here last April. That’s when I went on the list, and I was aware that kidney transplant was actually done right here in Guyana,” the recipient said.

Kiran Hardyal, a two-time recipient, said he feels like an ordinary man again, noting that he was on dialysis for an extensive period, and it took a toll of him.

“Being on dialysis isn’t something easy. It drains you a lot and I can tell you and I can tell proudly that I am happy to be a kidney transplant recipient because my life improved a whole lot better. My first transplant from 2015 lasted approximately nine years and change, and it failed, and I was back on dialysis for like one and a half years, and then I got a donor but my donor didn’t match. So, that was heart breaking, because being a second time transplant patient, it wasn’t easy,” Hardyal said.

He said he was pleased when the hospital informed him that it had found him a match, and he would have been part of the historic chain kidney transplants.

Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony applauded Dr Persaud and his team, noting that the team continues to exceed expectations. The Health Minister said the transplant programme has expanded significantly since it was first established at the public hospital, with the number of beneficiaries increasing.

To support the work of the team, particularly in the area of HLA testing, which is critical for kidney transplants to match the donors, the Ministry of Health will be sending a doctor to India to be trained. Minister Anthony said already the equipment is in place.

“This equipment also need us to have specially trained persons for us to do the actual testing and the interpretation, and so, one of the things we have done is to identify one of our doctors who would be going to India in the new year to be trained by the Apollo Hospital in India so that they can do HLA testing upon their return in Guyana. So, this would add to what the programme is doing,” Minister Anthony said.

He said through a number of partnerships, the Ministry of Health would be providing additional training to doctors.

Chief Executive Officer of the Georgetown Public Hospital, Robbie Rambarran while acknowledging the hospital’s success, spoke of the alarming increase in kidney disease.

He said kidney disease continues to affect millions of people globally, and in 2023 was the 9^th leading cause of death. He said in Guyana, the country has seen an increase in patients, particularly at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Related posts:

Guyanese on dialysis for kidney disease increased from 63 to 600 in the last five years -Study finds Free laser treatment for removal of kidney stones now available at Georgetown Hospital GPHC better able to treat kidney patients after receiving new dialysis machines U.S Friend to share kidney with Guyanese man