Fri May 09 14:26:12 UTC 2025: ## Tamil Nadu Amputee Teenager to Receive Hand Transplant
**Chennai, Tamil Nadu – May 9, 2025** – Kriti Varma, a 12th-grade student from Krishnagiri district who scored 471 marks in his board exams, will receive a hand transplant after Chief Minister M.K. Stalin intervened. Varma, an amputee, had appealed to the CM for assistance.
Following the appeal, the Chief Minister directed Health Minister Ma. Subramanian to facilitate the procedure. Varma and his family were brought to Chennai, where they met with Minister Subramanian and a team of doctors from the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital (SMCH).
Varma has been placed on the organ waitlist for a hand transplant. He will undergo investigations at SMCH for two to three days starting Monday before being discharged. While initially artificial limbs were suggested, Varma expressed his preference for a transplant.
Minister Subramanian noted that eight hand transplants have been performed in Tamil Nadu since 2018, both in government and private hospitals, with 26 individuals currently on the waitlist. The Minister also stated that a voluntary organization will cover Varma’s educational expenses for the next four years, allowing him to pursue his goal of becoming an engineer. Discussions are underway to arrange for his accommodation in a hostel near a Chennai college.
The process prioritizes patients on government hospital waitlists when the donor is from a government hospital. Otherwise, organs go into a common waitlist. Doctors emphasized that hand transplants from deceased donors must occur within six hours.
First Piper 