ISLAMABAD: Turkey has offered to help with the capacity building of Pakistani doctors and facilities to conduct liver transplant surgeries.

In addition, special assessment centres will be designated across the country to address patients seeking liver transplant facilities in Turkey.

A liver transplant centre was established at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in 2009 that cost Rs220 million.

The centre was visited by a foreign team of doctors in 2012 who conducted a liver transplant surgery, but the patient died within 24 hours. The team left after the surgery and no transplant has been carried out at the centre since. The centre is also missing some equipment.

During a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat on July 11, Pims said efforts to make the transplant centre functional are ongoing and it had been decided that an expert would be hired for the centre from the private sector.

However, the expert surgeon had demanded Rs2.6m per month in salary, and his deputy had demanded Rs2.4m per month. A summary has been moved to the Prime Minister’s Office, but approval has not been received so far.

A total of 550,000 people in Pakistan require liver transplants, and although 30pc of liver transplant cases were operated on in India, India has also stopped issuing medical visas.

On Tuesday, a Turkish delegation of liver transplant experts, led by Director General Health Oner Guner, met with National Health Services (NHS) Minister Saira Afzal Tarar and offered to help with the capacity building of Pakistani doctors and facilities to conduct liver transplant surgeries in the country.

According to an official statement, the Turkish side elaborated on facilities available in Turkey for liver transplant procedures.

The head of the Turkish delegation said a discounted package was being offered for Pakistani patients who require transplant procedures, and claimed that each patient would be followed up for their whole life after the procedure.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2017