PKLI set for organ transplants in Pindi

The Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre (PKLI&RC), Rawalpindi, is all set to perform kidney and liver transplantations from September, after getting license approval by the Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority (PHOTA).

So far, 20 kidney transplant patients and their donors, along with eight liver transplant patients and their donors, have been registered with PKLI Rawalpindi.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the Institute of Urology and Transplantation at Murree Road, Shamsabad, on April 14, 2023. The hospital was later affiliated with PKLI Lahore and granted the status of a PKLI facility.

PKLI Rawalpindi is currently providing patients with emergency services, outpatient department (OPD) facilities, dialysis, laser treatment, lithotripsy for breaking and removing kidney stones without surgery, CT scans and laboratory testing.

The hospital is now set to commence kidney and liver transplantation under the supervision of Dr Faisal Masood Dar, Dean of PKLI Lahore and Rawalpindi and one of the world's leading liver transplant surgeons. Robotic surgery is also expected to be introduced at the hospital soon.

According to PKLI Rawalpindi Project Director Dr Zulfiqar Ali Khan, the hospital currently has four modular operation theatres, an intensive care unit (ICU), a high-dependency unit (HDU), radiology and pathology services. Human resource arrangements have also been completed, while two kidney transplant surgeons and two liver transplant surgeons, along with their teams, are available at the hospital.

Dr Zulfiqar said kidney and liver transplantation at the hospital would be carried out in accordance with the rules and regulations of the PHOTA. Only a blood-relative donor would be allowed to donate a kidney or part of the liver to a patient.