PESHAWAR: The public sector Institute of Kidney Diseases (IKD) at the Hayatabad Medical Complex here has planned to increase the number of renal transplants after the inauguration of a 23-bed dedicated ward on Saturday.

Adviser to the chief minister on health Dr Riaz Anwar Khan inaugurated the ward during a special ceremony in the institute and urged doctors to perform their duties with dedication and extend their services to other parts of the province to serve people.

Lead transplant surgeon of the institute Dr Shahid Ahmad Khan said after the establishment ofthe ward and a five-bed intensive care unit, the institute intended to double the number of transplants it currently performed.

“We carried out five transplants each during the last two months and have planned to take the number to 10 per month as over two dozen patients await this surgical procedure,” he said.

CM aide opens ward for renal transplantation at IKD

The lead surgeon said the institute had also planned to start paediatric and deceased-donor transplants.

He said adult kidneys could be transplanted into children under the age of 18 years, whereas kidneys of the people with dead brain could save life of those with the damaged urinary organ.

“As there’s a lack of organ donation awareness, we need to counsel families to allow the transplantation of kidneys from their deceased members into patients direly needing them to stay alive,” he said.

Dr Shahid, who worked as a surgeon at the King Faisal Hospital in Saudi Arabia, said the government should compensate families for agreeing to such organ donations.

He also said the institute awaited the government’s response for the proposed recruitment of dedicated staff members for kidney transplantation.

“The Election Commission of Pakistan has banned recruitment ahead of general elections. We want this ban to be relaxed as these positions are for professionals only and their filling will improve patient care,” he said.

The lead surgeon said the required employees included three medical officers, a nephrologist, a surgeon and trained nurses, whose recruitment would enable the IKD to have “full-fledged” services for patients.

He said he hoped that the ECP wouldconsider the institute’s request for that ban’s relaxation.

IKD registrar (transplant) Dr Mian Fazal Manan said the ward for transplants would improve post-operative care of patients besides reducing infection chances.

“We used to do transplants free of charge under the Sehat Card Plus programme but it is no longer the case due to the suspension of that health insurance initiative by the government,” he said.

The registrar said the cost of renal transplantation was huge, so most patients couldn’t afford it.

“We have repeatedly requested the government to allocate special funds for patients to pay for transplants and post-transplant medication,” he said.

Dr Mian said a transplant cost Rs800,000-Rs1.2 million, while the patient later required medicines of Rs60,000 every month.

“If the government makes funds available, we can do transplants free of charge as we used to do before the start of the Sehat Card Plus programme,” he said.

On the occasion, IKD director Prof Mazhar Khan said the institute was striving to provide patients with services of international standards.

“Besides doing transplants, we are also training our doctors, nurses and paramedics to achieve good results,” he said.

Prof Mazhar said during the last few months, the institute had carried out 23 kidney transplants.

He said before carrying out transplants, the IKD met the requirements of the Medical Transplantation Regulatory Authority to ensure that the surgical procedures take place in accordance with the law.

Prof Asif Malik, who pioneered transplants at the IKD, said he was satisfied with the progress made by the institute and extended his cooperation to it as the MTRA chairman to “ensure donations come from the right people.”

Senior urologists Dr Usman Haroon, Dr Mian Naushad Ali Kakakhel, Dr Shehzad Akbar Khan, Dr Faisal Shehzad, Dr Taqi Toufeeq Khan and Dr Attaur Rehman also attended the event.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2023