A team of South Korean physicians says it has, for the first time in the nation’s history, succeeded in treating a patient suffering from both leukemia and chronic renal failure.

A medical team at Seoul Saint Mary’s Hospital says it successfully treated in September a 29-year-old patient suffering from both leukemia and chronic renal failure by administering an anticancer treatment and then performing a kidney transplant.

Previously, kidney transplants for patients suffering from chronic renal failure and leukemia were not considered a viable option due to concerns that cancerous cells could spread to other organs.