Success at last: At PIMS, first kidney transplant in five years

Kidney transplants will be carried out every Thursday, says hospital chief.

ISLAMABAD:

The first kidney transplant was conducted at the country’s largest referral hospital on Thursday.

This was the first successful operation in five years after the re-opening of the Kidney Transplant Centre at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), hospital sources said.

According to the sources, the four-hour kidney transplant was carried out by a team of six surgeons. The 20-year patient, Waqas, was shifted to the surgical intensive care unit of the Liver Transplant Centre and his condition is stable. Khalid Mehmood, the father of Waqas, donated one of his kidneys to his son.

Pims Executive Director Prof Riaz Ahmed Warraich said kidney transplants would be carried out every Thursday. Every month around 30 patients visit the hospital for a transplant, he added.

Bone marrow transplant unit in need of funds

A separate blood bank for thalassaemia and haemophilia patients will be established at Pims in addition to a department for the two genetic diseases at the recently-approved Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University.

This was announced by the Minister for Capital Administration and Development (CAD) Nazar Muhammad Gondal while addressing participants at an awareness programme for thalassaemia patients which coincided with the celebration of over 50 transplants in four years at Simone Montomoli Bone Marrow Transplant Centre at the Children Hospital on Thursday. It was organised by Pims in collaboration with Cure2children Foundation (C2C).

Gondal said the ward for haemophilia patients would be extended and a research laboratory would be set up in the hospital. PC-I of the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) unit pending since 2009 would be approved soon, he added.

Meanwhile according to official sources, C2C, an Italian non-governmental organisation had an agreement with the government under which the Italian organisation would provide funds for technical expertise and equipment for the two-bed BMT from 2008 to 2012. Since the agreement is about to expire, the Pims administration is making all-out efforts to get funds from CAD by getting its PC-I approved so it can continue to function.

A presentation was given by members of the BMT unit according to which there are about 60,000 children in Pakistan suffering from thalassaemia and 5,000 new cases are born every year. Children with thalassaemia are unable to create normal red cells on their own resulting in severe anaemia and transfusion dependency. Supportive care for one costs of Rs15,000 per month but, in spite of this, the majority of children die before adolescence.

BMT is the only curative treatment costing Rs1 to1.5 million. About 50% of children have a compatible sibling and have a 90% chance of cure if they receive BMT before they turn five.

Baitul Mal Managing Director Zamrud Khan said his organisation has provided Rs800 million to Pims out of which Rs140 million was given for the treatment of thalassaemia over a four year-period. He announced that Baitul Mal would pay for BMT for 10 deserving thalassaemia children, each costing Rs600,000 and provide 100 wheelchairs for the hospital.

Italian envoy Adriano Chiodi Cianfarani assured Italian government’s financial support for the ongoing functioning of the BMT unit.

Hamza Ilyas, 14, a patient of thalassaemia major won first prize in a power point presentation on the prevention and treatment of thalassaemia. Hamza is the eldest of three siblings, all of whom are thalassaemia major.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2012.