LAHORE: In what appeared to be ‘deliberate negligence’ on the part of the former and serving heads of the urology departments, the Mayo Hospital, Lahore, could not provide kidney transplant facilities to the poor patients for the last a decade or so.

The life-saving treatment has been a mandatory requirement, particularly, at the state-run hospitals to safeguard the vulnerable individuals from exploitation in the face of illegal and unethical practices.

The 2800-bed Mayo Hospital is the largest public sector teaching institute of the province attached to the King Edward Medical University (KEMU).

The institute was housing two full-fledged urology departments but both were having no licence of the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC).

CEO claims hospital has met 80pc requirements to qualify for PHC licence

Some independent observers believed that at least the serving departmental heads must be held accountable for not ensuring mandatory life-saving facility as they remained largely interested in their private practices rather discharging core duties at the state-run hospital.

The Punjab Human Organ Transplantation Authority (PHOTA) was established under the Punjab Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Act, 2012.

This regulatory body is responsible for oversight of human organ and tissue transplantation in Punjab and it operates under the Punjab health department.

Sharing some details, an official privy to the development said that the number of End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) has increased at an alarming rate in Pakistan, leaving a large number of patients to go for kidney transplant to get new lease of life.

It was quite unfortunate that this facility was hardly available in the public sector teaching hospitals across Punjab, he said.

The most disturbing part of the information was that the Mayo Hospital couldn’t perform a single kidney transplant since the establishment of the PHOTA in 2012.

“It seems to be ‘criminal negligence’ on the part of those senior medical teachers who took no interest in getting their respective units recognised/registered for the kidney transplant”, the official said.

According to him, the authorities in the PHC and PHOTA were also equally responsible for allowing the senior urologists to head their respective units without providing kidney transplant facilities.

The both departments concerned were to make sure that the institute was having a licence and accreditation to perform kidney transplants.

He said currently Prof Dr Fawad Nasrullah is heading 41-bed Urology Department-I as chairman while 35-bed Unit-II was being run by Prof Shamsul Islam.

The official lamented that both the units failed to meet the laid-down criteria which required accreditation from the PHOTA and licence to start kidney transplant at the hospital.

He said though Mayo Hospital Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Prof Haroon Hamid expedited the process recently by holding some exclusive meetings with the PHOTA, there were reports that it might take more months for completion due to the complex procedural issues.

The official said the PHC suggested to the CEO to first get licence from the healthcare commission, saying the units lacked the major facilities to meet the laid-down criteria and then apply for accreditation from the authority.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Haroon said the institute was trying hard to fulfil the given criteria to establish a sustainable and transparent system that meets the highest standards of medical ethics and public trust.

“Once completed, we would submit a request to the PHC for inspection of the institute to give a final nod”, he said.

During the last few months, he said, the institute managed to secure 80 marks as per the standards set by the PHC.

Prof Haroon said a kidney transplant centre requires specific criteria related to staffing, infrastructure, and patient care protocols.

These also included having a qualified transplant team, robust surgical facilities, and comprehensive post-transplant care programmes.

“The centre also needs to adhere to strict guidelines for donor and recipient selection, ensuring safety and compatibility”, the Mayo Hospital CEO said adding that the institute has met almost 80 per cent requirements to qualify for the licence from the PHC. Prof Haroon believed that they would make the kidney transplant procedure functional within the next few months or so.

The heads of the Mayo Hospital’s both urology departments were not available for comments when this reporter tried repeatedly to contact them.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2025