Patiala: Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh on Wednesday met the first kidney transplant patient at Govt Rajindra Hospital and his wife, who donated the kidney, as the couple were discharged after recovering from the procedure.The transplant, performed on Sept 10, was provided free under the chief minister health scheme. The minister said the state govt would bear treatment expenses for eligible patients under the scheme.The 37-year-old patient from Romana Patti, Namol, in Sangrur district, had suffered a kidney failure due to membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis and had been undergoing dialysis three times a week since Dec 2025. His 29-year-old wife donated a kidney to him.Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis is a rare kidney disease where immune system deposits damage the tiny blood vessel filters (glomeruli) inside the kidneys, causing inflammation, thickening, and leakage of protein or blood into the urine.The couple thanked the state govt, the minister and the hospital’s medical team. The minister urged kidney patients and those suffering from serious ailments not to raise funds for treatment, but approach govt hospitals in time. A kidney transplant at a private hospital costs around Rs 8 lakh to Rs 12 lakh, he said.Calling the transplant a significant milestone for Punjab’s public healthcare and medical education sectors, Dr Balbir Singh praised the super-specialist team that performed the procedure.He said a 300-bed trauma centre was being established at Rajindra Hospital and a 50-bed critical care unit was nearing completion. These facilities, once operational, would reduce referrals of critically ill patients due to shortages of ICU beds, he said.He also congratulated transplant specialist Prof Sarbpreet Singh, urologists Prof Harbhupinder Singh Sandhu and Suparn Sharma, nephrologist Thakurveer Kohli and anaesthetist Tanveer Kundra. He also praised medical college director-principal RPS Sibia and Rajindra Hospital medical superintendent Vishal Chopra.
