Could awake kidney transplants become the norm?br br Harry Stackhouse, a 74-year-old from Illinois, was awake during his recent kidney transplant. He felt no pain as he chatted with doctors, examined the donor organ, and watched the surgical team staple him back up. Stackhouse was discharged just 36 hours after the procedure at Northwestern Medicine, which aims to make transplants without risky general anesthesia commonplace. The procedure may be ideal for patients that "may be at higher risk for general anesthesia," says Dr. Satish Nadig, who performed the surgery.