For years, patients from Arunachal Pradesh had no choice but to pack their bags, leave their mountains behind, and travel thousands of kilometres to cities like Delhi just to access life-saving medical care. That era just quietly changed.
On September 28, the Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (TRIHMS) in Naharlagun scripted history by performing the state’s very first kidney transplant. The recipient was a 32-year-old man whose elder sister stepped forward and gave him something no amount of money could buy — one of her kidneys. Both siblings are stable. And for Arunachal Pradesh, nothing will quite be the same again.
The landmark surgery was carried out in collaboration with Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) in New Delhi, a partnership that has been quietly in the making for the past three years. Doctors and nurses from TRIHMS underwent rigorous training at SGRH to build the skills needed for such a complex procedure. That investment in human capacity paid off in a big way on Sunday.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu, visibly moved by the occasion, visited TRIHMS and personally met the siblings. He called the transplant a “historic milestone” — and it genuinely is. Speaking to the team, Khandu acknowledged how patients from the state were long forced to travel to metropolitan cities for highly specialised procedures, often at enormous financial and emotional cost to their families.
“TRIHMS was established in 2018 and has since undergone many transformations,” he said, acknowledging the years of quiet groundwork that finally made Sunday possible.
Khandu also made a point of thanking Dr Harsha Jauhari and the SGRH team specifically. It is a detail worth noting — the kind of institutional partnership between a small northeastern state hospital and one of India’s top medical facilities doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of trust, coordination, and sustained commitment. The fact that it bore fruit in the form of a successful transplant is a testament to what focused collaboration can achieve.
The Chief Minister did not stop at celebrating the milestone. He announced that the state would expand its transplant capabilities further, with more kidney and liver transplant procedures expected in the days ahead. He also boosted financial assistance for major transplants under the Chief Minister Arogya Arunachal Yojana (CMAAY). Kidney transplant assistance goes up from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12.5 lakh. Bone marrow transplantation support rises to Rs 17.5 lakh from Rs 15 lakh. Liver transplant assistance has been enhanced from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 22.5 lakh.
It is a practical acknowledgment of reality. These procedures are expensive, and for families in a small state like Arunachal — where income levels are modest and medical travel adds crushing additional costs — even partial financial relief can be the difference between treatment and giving up.
There is something deeply human at the centre of this story too. A young man’s life was saved not just by skilled hands and upgraded infrastructure, but by his sister’s unconditional love. She did not think twice. That act of courage, of sibling devotion, gave the state a reason to celebrate and gave one family its life back.
Arunachal Pradesh has taken a giant step. And if the state continues to build on this foundation, patients who once stared at the mountains and wondered how to afford a flight to Delhi may soon find that the help they need is right here, in their own home.
