AIIMS Bhubaneswar Enters National League Of Advanced Tertiary Care With Liver Transplant And Robotic Surgery Milestone

AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Monday joined the league of advanced tertiary care centres in the country with the commissioning of its Liver Transplant Programme, marking a significant milestone not only for Odisha but for the entire eastern region of India.

The development is expected to substantially reduce the long-standing dependence of patients from Odisha and neighbouring states—including West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Assam—on metropolitan centres for highly specialised and complex medical procedures.

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda virtually inaugurated the facilities, describing the occasion as a milestone in the institutional growth of AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

“The launch of the liver transplant programme aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to promote organ donation as a national movement and to widen access to advanced medical care through strengthened public health institutions,” he said.

For patients suffering from end-stage liver disease, the programme is likely to be transformative. Until now, families from eastern India frequently travelled to cities such as Delhi, Chennai, and Hyderabad for transplantation, often facing significant financial strain, logistical challenges, and emotional distress.

The availability of the service within the region not only reduces travel and accommodation burdens but also ensures continuity of care closer to patients’ homes and support systems.

Officials stated that liver transplant services at the institute would be supported under key government schemes, including Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) and the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi. This financial backing is expected to ensure that economically vulnerable patients can access life-saving surgery and post-operative care without incurring catastrophic health expenditure—a major barrier in organ transplantation.

To operationalise the programme, the institute has established a dedicated transplant operation theatre, a modern intensive care unit equipped with advanced monitoring systems, and a structured outpatient clinic for long-term post-transplant follow-up.

The commissioning of the advanced robotic surgery system is equally significant. With this step, AIIMS Bhubaneswar becomes the first government medical institution in Odisha to operationalise a comprehensive robotic surgery programme. The integration of robotic-assisted technology into a public sector hospital would help cut the out-of-pocket expenditure and also ensure cutting-edge surgical care.

Robotic surgery is known to enhance precision, allow smaller incisions, minimise blood loss, reduce post-operative pain, and shorten hospital stays. It also facilitates quicker recovery and earlier return to normal activities.

Initially, robotic-assisted procedures will be introduced in urology, gynaecology, and paediatric surgery, with plans for phased expansion into additional specialties as expertise and case volumes grow, said the officials.

Over the past few years, AIIMS Bhubaneswar has strengthened its tertiary care portfolio with services such as kidney and bone marrow transplantation. The addition of liver transplantation places it among a limited group of government institutions in the country equipped to provide comprehensive multi-organ transplant services.

Inaugurating the facilities, Nadda stated that “it is a momentous and historic occasion, marking a proud milestone in the journey of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, which has rapidly developed into a centre of excellence in tertiary healthcare, pioneering medical research and delivering high-quality academic programmes.”

He further stated that “these additions would significantly strengthen the healthcare infrastructure and elevate the quality of healthcare delivery, enabling access to advanced, world-class, life-saving treatments for patients across Odisha and neighbouring states.” Congratulating the entire team of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, the Minister noted that while the institute has already been successfully performing kidney and bone marrow transplants, the commencement of the Liver Transplant Programme marks an important new chapter and a major milestone in strengthening advanced tertiary healthcare services in the region, as per a statement from the Ministry.

Nadda further noted that the institute has established a state-of-the-art Liver Transplant Operation Theatre and a highly advanced Intensive Care Unit equipped with modern medical technology, along with a dedicated Liver Transplant Specialty Clinic for structured post-transplant follow-up and continuity of care.

Aparajita Sarangi, Member of Parliament, Odisha, emphasised that AIIMS Bhubaneswar has emerged as a role model for other AIIMS institutions, consistently achieving new milestones in healthcare delivery, medical education, and research.

She stated that the inauguration of advanced transplant and robotic surgery facilities reflects a decisive shift towards innovation-driven, technology-enabled, and patient-centric public healthcare, aligned with the Prime Minister’s vision of world-class healthcare for all.

Addressing the gathering, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava highlighted that the life-saving transplant services are being provided under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) and Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi, ensuring that economically disadvantaged patients receive comprehensive transplant care without financial hardship.

She said this year is being observed as “Angdaan Jeevan Sanjeevani Abhiyaan,” and emphasised that the new transplant unit would serve as a true “Jeevan Sanjeevani” for countless patients. Dr. Anita Saxena, President, AIIMS Bhubaneswar; Ankita Mishra Bundela, Joint Secretary, MoHFW; and senior officers of the Ministry were also present on the occasion. Dr. Ashutosh Biswas, Executive Director, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, and the team of AIIMS Bhubaneswar joined the event online from the institute, according to the statement.