Hospital patient, 28, undergoes kidney transplant awake and sees new organ during operation: ‘Incredible experience’

A 28-year-old patient undergoing a kidney transplant was kept awake during the procedure – and even caught a glimpse of the new organ he was about to receive, a Chicago hospital revealed Monday.

John Nicholas, who lives in the Windy City, said he didn’t feel any pain and was out of the hospital just 24 hours later after Northwestern Medicine doctors swapped kidneys on May 24 in a first-of-its-kind success.

Instead of the usual general anesthesia, medical staff opted to use a spinal anesthesia shot similar to what’s given for a cesarean section.

Transplant surgeon Dr. Satish Nadig said in a press release that by keeping Nicholas awake, the surgery was similar to an outpatient procedure.

“Our hope is that awake kidney transplantation can decrease some of the risks of general anesthesia while also shortening a patient’s hospital stay,” said Nadig, who is also the hospital’s director of its transplant center.

“Inside the operating room, it was an incredible experience being able to show a patient what their new kidney looked like before placing it inside the body.”

Dr. Vicente Garcia Tomas said doing the operation was easier for medical staff than many C-sections, calling it “simple and uneventful.”

Nicholas, who was also slightly sedated, called the experience “pretty cool” and didn’t even realize it was underway.

“At one point during surgery, I recall asking, ‘Should I be expecting the spinal anesthesia to kick in?’ They had already been doing a lot of work and I had been completely oblivious to that fact,” he said.

“Truly, no sensation whatsoever. I had been given some sedation for my own comfort, but I was still aware of what they were doing.”

While patients usually need to stay in the hospital two or three days after a kidney transplant, Nicholas was out in a day, the hospital said.

Nicholas was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease when he was 16 and began having kidney issues. While he didn’t require dialysis and managed on medication, his kidney function began to decline more in 2022, leading to a search for a new kidney.

His mother was planning on donating her organ, but that was scrapped after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Instead, one of his friends from Indiana, 29-year-old Pat Wise, stepped up after he found out about his pal’s problem.

“We always called ourselves ‘ride or die’ friends, and this example shows that we have each other’s backs,” Nicholas said. “It meant the world to me. It’s truly been life-changing.”

Following Nicholas’ successful surgery, Northwestern Medicine plans on starting a new program that will allow patients to remain awake during kidney surgeries.

“It really opens up a whole new door and is another tool in our tool belt for the field of transplantation,” Nadig said.