Doctors from city-based BLK Super Specialty Hospital said on Monday that they successfully performed the first ever kidney transplant in Tanzania in partnership with Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam.

"It is a matter of great honour that the first ever kidney transplant in Tanzania was performed by a team of Indian doctors," Naresh Kapoor, Executive Director, BLK Super Specialty Hospital, said in a statement."Such surgeries are enormously complicated with significant risks. Hence, the success of this first ever kidney transplant enlivens hope for the people of Tanzania. I congratulate our team on the success," Kapoor said.The surgery was conducted on a 30-year-old Tanzanian woman who was suffering from end-stage kidney disease and was on haemodialysis for over a year. 

"The kidney donor was her 27-year-old brother," said H S Bhatyal, Head of Urology and Kidney Transplantation at the hospital.The doctors also acknowledged the support of a team of doctors at Muhimbili National Hospital in conducting the surgery."Both donor and recipient are recuperating well and should return to normal activities soon. They are under our care and supervision," Sunil Prakash, Director & Head of Nephrology at BLK hospital said.With a broader aim to promote cooperation and mutual understanding between the two countries, the New Delhi-based hospital established partnerships with Muhimbili National Hospital as well as other healthcare institutes in the region such as the JakayaKikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) and Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute.

"We have established credible linkage with countries in Africa through a number of collaborative programmes with an objective to build healthcare capacities locally in the countries such as Tanzania," Kapoor said."This surgery will certainly boost Indo-Tanzanian relationship in the field of healthcare," he added.