BBH gets official nod for kidney transplant surgeries

Inspection team reviews operation theatre, electro-medical equipment

RAWALPINDI: Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA) has given approval to the urology department of Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) for carrying out kidney transplants.

The report formulated by the special inspection team formed by Rawalpindi Commissioner Saqib Zafar would be sent to the Punjab government for final approval.

The inspection team met with the BBH Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Rafiq Ahmed, Urology Department Head Dr Zainul Umar and doctors of the related department and reviewed the operation theatre, electro-medical equipment and ward.

Dr Umar gave HOTA team a detailed briefing.

After getting clearance from HOTA, the kidney transplant on the basis of living related donors (LRD) would be done on a priority basis while in case of living unrelated donors (LURD), the procedure would be conducted after fulfillment of all legal formalities and approval from HOTA.

BBH urology department was upgraded in 2016 with Rs29.7 million spending on machines and infrastructure.

Long delayed project

Construction of Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Kidney Transplant (RIUKT) are on hold for almost a decade while the first kidney transplant, for the first time in any Punjab government hospitals in the city, was performed six years ago. However, the process was halted after a change in government’s policy regarding organ transplant and the department had only been confined to procedures including removal of kidney stones, prostate operation and dialysis afterward.

After revamping of the urology department from the grant issued by ex-MNA Hanif Abbasi, the hospital administration has decided to restart the process again.

Consecutive governments have abandoned progress on RIUKT on the pretext of being a project of a rival party.

However, the Rawalpindi, Commissioner Saqib Zafar said that the government had decided to make hospital operational by March of 2020.

“Completion of the project is among the priorities of the federal and provincial government,” Zafar said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2019.