In a first for GRH, woman who underwent renal transplant gives birth to a healthy baby

A 32-year-old woman who underwent renal transplant has given birth to a healthy baby boy at Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai.

Doctors term it as a significant event as this is the first time in the hospital’s history that a woman who underwent a renal transplant had delivered a baby despite complications associated with organ transplantation.  

Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, M.K. Mahalakshmi, Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, said the woman was diagnosed for chronic kidney disease when she was 23 in 2015, and underwent a renal transplant in 2018 at the GRH. “As her mother’s kidney was compatible, the transplant procedure was successful,” she said. 

It was generally not advisable for a woman who had undergone kidney transplant to go through pregnancy as she might be intaking powerful medicines including immunosuppressants. But, in the case of this woman, as she followed all procedures advised by doctors, she was able to bring the pregnancy to term.  

Another gynaecologist, Dr. Thangamani, said that in a study done at Madras Medical College, it was found that the success rate of pregnancy in women who underwent renal transplant woman was negligible. “Out of 1,700 patients, less than 10 gave birth successfully,” she said.  

This case was significant as all the procedures - starting from organ transplant to pre-conception counselling to delivery - were done at GRH itself, she said.  

“As she was kept under constant care of doctors throughout her pregnancy period, she underwent labour pain in the beginning of the month. In view of the high-risk conditions of mother and the baby (Foetal Growth Restriction), emergency Lower Segment Caesarean Section (LSCS) was done and a healthy baby was delivered,” said Dean L. Arul Sundaresh Kumar. 

Following this, both baby and mother were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) respectively to keep them under monitoring, he added.  Later they were discharged from the hospital, he said.  

Published - October 15, 2024 08:19 pm IST