St George’s to develop collaboration with Kidney Transplant Unit in India
Our renal department has been designated a ‘sister transplant centre’ and will lend support to an emerging Indian hospital.
The ‘Sister Transplant Center Program’ was set up by the International Society for Nephrology (ISN) and the Transplantation Society (TTS) to help kidney centres in developing countries.
We have been partnered with the Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research in Kolkata, India.
The six year collaboration means that transplant experts from St George’s will share knowledge and expertise with their Indian counterparts with educational programs, service development initiatives and collaborative research.
St George’s will benefit by getting involved in global health, and by contributing vital skills to improve care and access to kidney transplantation in the sister centre. The sister centre based in Kolkata services a state of West Bengal with a population of 94 million.
A valuable partnership
Dr Debasish Banerjee, St George’s Consultant Nephrologist and Care Group Lead, said: “Many people in Kolkata will be in desperate need of a kidney transplant, and the sister centre collaboration will help improve the care of patients undergoing kidney transplantation.
“This partnership will also help provide valuable technology and skills for doctors in the region, so that their patients can get the best treatment on offer.
“In return, St George’s will benefit from collaborative education, learning opportunities for all clinical staff about nephrology practice in a different environment, and collaborative research.”
A report published last year showed that our renal transplant team has the highest patient survival rates following kidney transplant in the country.
The team carried out 172 transplants last year, which is the highest number in a year since the inception of the transplant unit in 1994.
