BENGALURU
The State-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO) has achieved a significant milestone by successfully performing a stem cell / bone marrow transplantation (BMT) on a 9-year-old boy with relapsed Wilms’ tumor, a type of kidney cancer, who has a single functioning kidney.
This complex procedure further strengthens Kidwai’s position as a leading public-sector cancer care centre in the country.
The child, Yuvraj (name changed), was diagnosed with Wilms’ tumor in December 2022 and underwent chemotherapy, complete removal of the left kidney (nephrectomy), followed by radiation therapy. His cancer unfortunately recurred in April 2025, and with his mother working as a domestic help and his father as a daily-wage labourer, the family faced severe financial constraints in accessing advanced treatment.
The transplant was successfully performed recently by Dr Vasundhara Kailasnath, Associate Professor – BMT and her team at Kidwai. They concluded that patient’s best chance of survival despite the relapse was high-dose chemotherapy followed by BMT.
During the child’s discharge on Saturday evening, Dr Sharan Prakash Patil, Minister for Medical Education and Skill Development congratulated the medical team for their exemplary work and dedication.
According to Dr Vasundhara, the case was particularly challenging because of the child’s single kidney status prior multiple chemotherapy exposures, young age, the need for high-dose BMT medications, and the heightened risk of severe, potentially life-threatening infections.
KIDWAI Director Dr T Naveen stated that Karnataka’s only State-run Bone Marrow Transplant Unit operational since April 2022 has successfully completed 130 BMT procedures to date.
On the same occasion, Kidwai also achieved another landmark by obtaining the HOTA (Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994) licence for its BMT services. The Minister highlighted that the Kidwai BMT Unit is among the few hospitals in Karnataka to be granted this certification and formally handed over the HOTA BMT licence to Dr Naveen.
