Man awake during kidney transplant.

Chicago Man Stays Awake During Cutting-Edge Kidney Transplant, Discharged Next Day

A Chicago man remained fully awake as surgeons performed a kidney transplant using his childhood best friend's organ. The procedure, performed on May 24, lasted under two hours, and the patient, 28-year-old John Nicholas, felt no pain.

On Monday, Northwestern Medicine in Chicago shared this extraordinary story:

"This is the first case at Northwestern Medicine where a patient was awake during an entire kidney transplant procedure and went home the next day... Our hope is that awake kidney transplantation can decrease anesthesia risks while shortening hospital stays," said Dr. Satish Nadig, one of the transplant surgeons.

Nicholas required a transplant due to declining kidney function from Crohn's disease, an ongoing battle since age 16. Unable to receive his mother's kidney due to her breast cancer diagnosis, his childhood friend, 29-year-old Pat Wise, stepped up and became a donor.

"John is a good friend. He needed a kidney, and I had an extra one... They had already done a lot of work and he had no sensation," Wise said.

Anesthesiologist Dr. Vicente Garcia Tomas described the process: "We placed a spinal anesthesia shot... with a little sedation for comfort. It was simple but allowed John to be awake."

Nicholas recalled the "cool experience," questioning when the anesthesia would kick in, unaware they had begun: "Truly, no sensation."

The procedure's success prompts Northwestern Medicine to establish the AWAKE Program for high-risk patients, avoiding general anesthesia.

"It opens up a whole new door... another tool for transplantation," Nadig concluded.