A CARDIAC stent is a meshed tube placed in the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart in order to keep the arteries open in the treatment of a heart disease.

These stents were being sold in the market at around Rs200,000 a piece whereas the same can be produced in the country at a cost of Rs15,000 each!

The Chief Justice of Pakistan took suo motu notice of this practice and ordered that the cardiac stents be manufactured in Pakistan and supplied to the general public at affordable rates.

The National University of Sciences and Technology was asked to produce these stents. It is heartening to learn that the stents have been produced successfully by the university concerned.

One would like to know whether the commercial production of the stents has been started at National University of Science and Technology. If so, what price has been fixed by the concerned authorities for the supply of these stents to the public?

Air-Cdre (retd) Azfar A Khan

Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2018