Patients distressed as kidney transplants near impossible in Punjab

Patients suffering from kidney disease in Punjab have to put up with harrowing experiences just to stay alive. The people afflicted with renal failure have only one option: to undergo continuous dialysis.

However, this is easier said than done. Owing to an increase in kidney disease in Pakistan, there is a perennial rush at government hospitals for dialysis as it is mostly free for patients whereas the same procedure in a private hospital costs thousands of rupees for a single session.

Some renal patients have to undergo dialysis twice, sometimes thrice a week which translates into big sums of money being spent just to stay alive. It should be noted that at present there is an extraordinary rush of patients in all government and nongovernment dialysis centres, making it next to impossible for patients to schedule dialysis treatment.

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Chronic kidney patients are ultimately left with the option of a kidney transplant. However, this procedure again is fraught with risks.

For a kidney transplant to be successful, medical experts say the kidney should be donated by a close relative. The other alternative is to find a donor whose tissues match those of the kidney patient.

Since kidney donations by blood relatives were uncommon, donors selling kidneys became a big business in the country. Rich patients in need of a kidney would pay poor donors a pittance for an important organ of life.

To discourage this practice in Punjab, illegal kidney transplantation, excluding blood relationship, is an offence under the Punjab Organ and Tissues Act, 2012. The offence is punishable with 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs10 million.

Since this law was enacted, it has become a difficult and complex process for kidney patients in need of a transplant. Getting approval from the Human Organ Transplantation Authority to allow someone else to donate a kidney when a blood relative is not available to donate the cadaver only adds to the complexity of the process.

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The Punjab government is aware of this issue and has taken some measure to deal with the issue. It has set up the Punjab Human Organ Transplantation Authority (PHOTA), which in turn has set up three sub-offices in Rawalpindi, Multan and Faisalabad besides Lahore for registration to donate kidneys. Organ donors can register for organ donation at these centres.

Meanwhile, the Institute of Urology and Kidney Transplant in Rawalpindi has been completed. However, due to the corona emergency, it has not been made functional yet and the building of this institute is being used as a coronavirus treatment centre.

Citizens in need of kidney transplants are awaiting approval from PHOTA for the same and praying they get the permission sooner rather than later.