Another kidney transplant carried out at BBH

Doctors say patient’s condition stable after complicated procedure

RAWALPINDI:

Another successful kidney transplant was carried out at the urology department of Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) Rawalpindi. A sister donated the organ to her brother to give him a new life.

Currently, the Rawalpindi Institute of Kidney and Liver Transplant (RIUKT), which has been dedicated to performing such surgeries, has not been made functional owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

Therefore, kidney transplant surgeries are being carried out in the urology department of Benazir Bhutto Hospital on a limited scale.

Asghar Ali, 35, underwent a successful kidney transplant which was donated by his 28-year-old sister Sana. The family hailed from Dera Ghazi Khan.

Dr Zainul Aamir Hashmi, head of the department of urology at BBH, who was heading the team, said that the patient’s condition was stable after the transplant. The doctor said that he will be discharged from the hospital in the next few days.

Read More: Patients distressed as kidney transplants near impossible in Punjab

The same team of doctors had carried out a successful kidney transplant of Zaid, who hailed from Chakwal.

Dr Aamir said that they have a team of the best doctors for a kidney transplant. He said that the permission for carrying out such a procedure is taken from the Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority.

Meanwhile, the RIUKT, the dedicated hospital for the purpose in the Rawalpindi division, has not yet been made functional. The institute was converted into a dedicated facility for treating coronavirus patients when the pandemic broke out.

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, all preparations were completed to make the healthcare facility functional with the emergency, OPD and dialysis unit.

RIUKT Adviser Dr Khalid Mehmood Randhawa said that the health facility will be made functional with the emergency, OPD, and dialysis unit once the coronavirus pandemic was over.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2021.