Overview
- The Hospital Nacional Dos de Mayo carried out the first robotic-assisted extraction of a kidney from a living donor on August 17, using the da Vinci Xi and led by Dr. Rocío Zavala; the 40-year-old aunt donor and her 19-year-old recipient both recovered and the patient was discharged in good condition.
- Surgeons completed the donor nephrectomy in about three and a half hours, prepared the organ in bench surgery and implanted it, using the robot’s three-dimensional high-definition vision and articulated instruments to improve precision in the complex procedure.
- The operation is part of a planned expansion at Dos de Mayo that included a new Renal Transplant Unit opened in May 2026 and roughly 500 robotic procedures across five specialties reached by August 2026.
- The Ministry of Health described the case as evidence that robotic surgery can be progressively incorporated into high-complexity public services, while hospital leaders say wider use will depend on training, equipment and formal protocols.
- For patients the case shows living donation can free people from regular dialysis and restore daily life, and the next effects to watch are program scaling, specialist training, and whether public hospitals can replicate the result for more transplant candidates.