KARACHI, Dec 17: On an average 25,000 Pakistanis die every year of organs failure. The lives of many of these patients may be saved, provided cadaver donation of organs is legalized in the country.

In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s some doctors involved in the transplantation of kidneys felt the need for laws on cadaver donation of organs. They formulated a law which was submitted to the legislators of the country for approval at the national legislature.

These documents have since made it to the Senate where these have been gathering dust, pending their approval. The doctors who took part in their formulation are at a loss what to do next.

On Wednesday the moving spirit behind the draft law — Prof Adibul Hasan Rizvi — launched a broadside against all those who have been apathetic towards it. “Shame, shame, shame, this law has been sitting in the Senate since 1992 despite repeated reminders,” he remarked.

The occasion was a press conference at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) during which it was announced that the first Liver Transplant Baby of Pakistan was hale and hearty and was being discharged from the hospital.

Prof Rizvi said 8,000 Pakistanis died every year of end-stage liver disease. The incidence of this disease is rising, as the number of people having Hepatitis B and C spirals upwards.

He was of the view that the arguments put forth by certain people against cadaver donation held little water. “Cadaver donation has been legalized by several Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Malaysia and Bangladesh.”

Giving life to people could never be un-Islamic, he said. “When it comes to life and death, something that is not permissible in Islam becomes permissible. That is Islam.”

Prof Rizvi said one cadaver can produce up to 17 organs. “So, one cadaver can be utilized to save up to 17 lives.”

Not long ago, he said, two kidneys of a young man who was killed prematurely, were transplanted. As a result two lives were not only saved but improved.

The transplantation needs of the country were 10,000 kidneys, 8,000 livers and 3,000 hearts annually, he said. The expenses incurred on dialysis of end-stage renal patients are greater than on transplantation.

“But the future of transplantation lies in cadaver donation of organs.” Answering a question, he said the religious leaders did not object too much to cadaver donation.

“The religious leaders we have talked to have always supported us. It is time for the clergy, journalists and doctors to join hands in efforts to convince the legislators to pass a law on cadaver donation of organs.”

In response to another question, he said: “You know better than me what motivates our legislators. I don’t have to dwell too much on the subject.”

On the occasion, he announced that the SIUT would soon be undertaking at least one kidney transplant operation every day. “At the moment between 500 and 600 transplant operations are carried out every year. There is a need to carry out 8,000 to 10,000.”

Answering a question, the professor said it was not possible at the moment to undertake a liver transplant operation on an adult at the SIUT. “The reason is simple as the operation is too difficult and could endanger the life of the donor as well as the recipient.”

That was why cadaver donation was vital, said Prof Rizvi. In response to a question, he said a portion of the Rs600 million that had been promised by the authorities had finally been released.

He declared that the SIUT provided healthcare absolutely free. “This is important. We are providing care free of cost to the poor. Not even the public sector hospitals and clinics can claim that.”

Prof Rizvi also discussed at length the latest developments in transplantation and stem cell research. He added that the first liver transplantation in the country’s history had been undertaken at the SIUT in collaboration with the King’s College, London.