Thanks to generous and dedicated support from the Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital in Italy, the St. John’s Medical College and Hospital in India has now graduated from the ISN-TTS Sister Transplant Centers (STC) Program after completing a fulfilling six-year journey.

The long-term goals of the collaboration were to optimize transplant outcomes and develop a sustainable pediatric renal transplant program in a low-resource setting. These expectations were met and surpassed as the supporting center worked alongside the emerging center to identify and overcome gaps.

The team at the emerging center in India grew in skills and human resources as younger pediatric nephrologists were trained and additional staff recruited to create a multidisciplinary transplant team: two trained transplant coordinators, a dedicated pediatric hemodialysis technician, dietician, and peritoneal dialysis and transplant nurses.

Since joining the ISN–TTS Sister Transplant Centers (STC) Program in 2017, the Shahid Dharmabhakta National Transplant Center (SDNTC) (formerly known as the Human Organ Transplant Center) in Nepal has undergone a remarkable transformation. Its partnership with the Freeman Hospital in the UK has strengthened clinical skills, expanded services, and improved kidney transplant outcomes across the country.

Transformation in numbers:

• Annual kidney transplants rose from 132 in 2017 to 186 in 2023 — the highest to date
• The center has advanced its paired kidney exchange program and performed 10 deceased donor kidney transplants, including the country’s first brain-death donation
• Diagnostic capacity also expanded, with a peak of 187 renal biopsies conducted in 2022

In addition to those listed below, six partnerships have successfully upgraded levels within the program, and the Human Organ Transplant Center (Nepal) – Freeman Hospital (UK) partnership has graduated. There are now 22 active partnerships in the program this year. Click below to learn more about these partnerships and their locations.