Overview
- Governor Om Prakash Mathur inaugurated the organ transplantation centre and a dedicated post‑transplant ICU at STNM Hospital in Gangtok on Saturday, and two kidney transplants were carried out in the state for the first time.
- The operations involved living donors: Neching Lepcha received a kidney from his wife Pem Diki Lepcha, and Shova Chettri received a kidney from Dal Bahadur Chettri.
- A specialised surgical team from R. N. Tagore Hospital in Kolkata led by Dr. T. A. Jahangir worked with STNM nephrologist Dr. Abhishek Gautam and local medical, nursing and technical staff to perform the procedures.
- The state government activated support under the Chief Minister’s Medical Assistance Scheme to cover treatment, surgery, diagnostic tests, surgical kits and up to six months of post‑operative medicines for eligible BPL and Sikkim domicile beneficiaries.
- Health officials say the new centre, installed near the Level Seven OT complex entrance, aims to reduce the need for patients to travel outside Sikkim for advanced care and to build local surgical capacity through continued collaboration with outside specialists.