South African medicine met another milestone at Tygerberg Hospital this week, when a donor underwent the country’s first-ever robotic kidney donor surgery.
Tygerberg, Cape Town (31 August 2025) – Doctors successfully performed South Africa’s first robotic kidney donor surgery at Tygerberg Hospital this week.
In essence, it means that everyday heroes who give a kidney to save someone else now have a far less invasive option, with quicker recovery and less pain. It’s life-changing news for families who find themselves on the long and very difficult journey of organ transplantation.
The procedure was performed by urologist Dr Danelo du Plessis, using the da Vinci Xi Robotic platform, one of the most advanced surgical tools in the world.
“Living donors make this extraordinary sacrifice purely from altruism – they deserve a safe and minimally invasive procedure. This technology delivers on that promise,” says Dr du Plessis.
The donor was a 45-year-old mother, and the recipient was her 24-year-old daughter.
The operation took less than 90 minutes, exceeding Dr du Plessis’ expectations. By the following day, the donor was already home recovering, and the new kidney was functioning well in her daughter’s body.
Kidney transplants themselves aren’t a new thing. But removing a healthy kidney for donation is one of the most delicate surgeries doctors can perform. Every vein, artery, and section of ureter has to be preserved to give the recipient the best possible chance.
The da Vinci robotic system makes this possible with four robotic arms guided by the surgeon through a 3D console that looks a bit like it belongs in a gaming arcade, but it doesn’t. It gives surgeons exact precision and allows them to take a far less invasive route than the standard procedure we know.
Tygerberg has been building towards this for some time now. Since 2022, the hospital and Stellenbosch University have run a robotic surgery training programme, teaching surgeons how to master advanced procedures.
Dr Du Plessis himself has performed more than 200 robotic procedures before attempting this historic donor case, many of which included kidney, prostate, and bladder operations.
“Robotic surgery is a new technology that has been used safely in many parts of the world for procedures like nephrectomies and prostatectomies. It is great to see that such innovations can also happen in South Africa….” says Prof Elmi Muller, Dean of Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and transplant surgeon.
Right now, thousands of South Africans are waiting for organ transplants.
Kidneys are the most commonly needed organ, yet only a fraction of patients ever receive one.
Of course, donating an organ is no small decision. Knowing that the life-saving surgery can now be done in a safer and less invasive way might encourage more people to take the leap and save a life.
South African medicine has long been known for punching above its weight since our doctors performed the world’s first human-to-human heart transplant back in 1967! We’re still pushing that envelope.
Sources: Linked above
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