By: Sarah Ofori
Soon, patients requiring life-saving kidney transplant will no longer run around in circles, in search of resources and a facility. On Wednesday in Accra, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital disclosed plans to establish an ultra-modern kidney transplant Centre by end of the year.
This facility to be solely funded by First Sky Group would provide a cost-effective avenue to patients who hitherto must travel abroad for such services.
The hospital has also successfully performed an organ harvest and transplant for two kidney failure patients who are said to be recovering well.
The burden of Chronic Kidney Diseases (CKD) and Kidney Failures in the country is estimated at thirteen per cent (13%), and this usually occurs among person in their in prime ages of 20 to 50 years.
CKD often renders patients and their households poor due to the cost involved in dialysis and medication. Even though kidney transplant is not new to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, it recorded another milestone on the 2nd and 3rd of this month when it harvested and transplanted kidneys into two male patients whose donors were females. They team of specialists was ninety-five per cent locally constituted.
Kidney transplant is the ultimate treatment for CKDs and in the words of the head of the Nephrology Unit; the procedure should now be regarded as a routine treatment offered by KBTH.
Each of the transplants was estimated at twenty one thousand dollars and was fully covered by the First Sky Group. Since 2010, the conglomerate has enrolled 250 vulnerable patients of free dialysis, sponsored kidney transplants for patients, who sought treatment abroad and paid huge sums of monies to the hospital to support the Nephrology unit in offering free transplants. These were born out of concern about the burden of the disease on Ghanaians.
The Chief Executive of the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah appealed to legislators to enact a law to give full legal backing for organ harvesting and transplants in the country since the hospital is replete of expertise in diverse fields in medical treatment.
Next batch of kidney transplants has been scheduled for August this year for three other patients.
