Sikkim has taken a significant step forward in its healthcare sector with the establishment of its first Organ Transplant Centre and Post Transplant ICU at STNM Hospital, Sochakgang. The facility was inaugurated by Governor Om Prakash Mathur and Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Saturday, marking a major milestone for the state.
The new centre is a result of the state government’s focus on strengthening the health sector. According to Chief Minister Tamang, there was no such facility in Sikkim before he assumed office. To build local expertise, specialists from Rabindranath Tagore Narayana Hospital (RN Tagore) in Kolkata have trained doctors and medical teams at STNM Hospital.
With the training now in place, doctors in Sikkim will gradually undertake transplant procedures themselves, reducing the need for patients to travel outside the state for treatment. The Chief Minister stated that patients will no longer be routinely referred outside Sikkim for transplant-related treatment, except for complicated cases that require specialised intervention.
The centre has already begun performing transplant procedures, with two kidney transplants scheduled for today. Pema Diki Lepcha is donating a kidney to Neching Lepcha of Gangtok, while Dal Bahadur Chettri is donating to Shova Chettri of Bhusuk.
The establishment of the Organ Transplant Centre is expected to provide patients with access to transplant and post-transplant care within the state, reducing the financial and logistical burden of travelling outside Sikkim for treatment.
