A Chicago man received a kidney transplant while awake in an innovative process that doctors say can reduce risks of general anesthesia and speed recovery time. CBS News' Jarred Hill has more on the Northwestern Medicine surgeons behind this development.
Northwestern Medicine surgeons held a press conference Monday to discuss an awake kidney transplant performed last month on 28-year-old John Nicholas of Chicago, who received a kidney from one of his childhood friends and was discharged home less than 24 hours after surgery. The patient received an anesthesia shot in his spine — a method that could "open the door to increase access to transplantation for patients who are high-risk to undergo general anesthesia," according to a press release from the hospital.
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