Patient awake during kidney transplant says seeing his new organ was ‘pretty cool’

A 28-year-old man became the first patient to be awake during his kidney transplant procedure with Northwestern Medicine.

A kidney transplant patient who was awake for the entire time during his surgery saw his new organ before receiving it and called it ‘pretty cool’.

John Nicholas, 28, was the first patient of Northwestern Medicine to be awake during his transplant, and said he did not feel any pain and was discharged from a hospital in a mere 24 hours.

‘It was a pretty cool experience to know what was happening in real time and be aware of the magnitude of what they were doing,’ said Nicholas, according to Northwestern Medicine.

Nicholas we given a spinal epidural similar to what is used in a cesarean section, instead of general anesthesia. He also received light sedation and a nerve block.

‘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,’ transplant surgeon Satish Nadig, who is director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Transplant Center, stated on Monday.

Despite the sedation, Nicholas was aware of what doctors were doing during the procedure that ran less than two hours at Northwestern Memorial Hospital on May 24.

‘Especially when they called out my name and told me about certain milestones they had reached,’ he said.

‘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. Truly, no sensation whatsoever.’

Nicholas was perfect candidate for the procedure due to his young age, limited risk factors and willingness.

‘When John agreed to be the first known patient at Northwestern Medicine to undergo an awake kidney transplant and be discharged home the next day, he knew the benefits outweighed the risks, and because of him, he’s now helping to move the field of transplantation forward,’ stated transplant surgeon Vinayak Rohan.

The new method made the transplant essentially an outpatient procedure and represents a promising advance in the world of health.

Nicholas was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in his early teenage years and started having kidney issues when he was 16. He was able to manage his condition with medication for years, but his kidney function declined in early 2022 when he moved to Chicago.

He was supposed to receive a kidney donation from his mother but she was unable to after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Nicholas turned to his group of friends he grew up with in Zionsville, Indiana.

‘I was in my kitchen cooking dinner and John sent a message that read, “My doctor says it’s time for me to start looking for kidney donors,”‘ said his friend Pat Wise, 29. ‘I stared at my phone and without hesitating, filled out the form that night.’

Wise wound up being a match for Nicholas.

‘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.’

Nicholas’ successful procedure was performed about a month after a 54-year-old grandmother received the first pig kidney transplant combined with a mechanical heart through NYU Langone Health surgeons.

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