PANJIM: Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) is the only facility authorised to do kidney transplants but has managed to conduct hardly 14 such surgeries in the last five years leaving hundreds of patients waiting in queue due to absence of authorisation to private hospitals to conduct the organ transplants.
There are about 1000 kidney patients undergoing dialysis in different hospitals in the State, including GMC, of which at least 200 can go for a kidney transplant that will provide a permanent solution for their ailment.
GMC, which was permitted to conduct the transplant half a decade ago, has performed only 14 such surgeries, while several patients are forced to go to hospitals in metros like Mumbai, Bangalore and more recently to Belgaum to get the kidney transplant when they get a family member as a donor.
The development comes on the backdrop of the State government including organ transplants as the services covered under its ambitious DDSSY scheme.
Dr Amol Mahaldar, honorary consultant nephrologist at GMC told Herald that for the past six months no kidney transplant has been conducted in GMC due to various reasons including that there is no Head of Department (Nephrology), who seeks permission from the government for the same.
Dr J P Tiwari, Head of Department (Nephrology) of GMC is on two-year leave for the last three and half months bringing a halt to the kidney transplant operations.
As per information, for kidney transplants, the Head of the Department needs to seek permission from the Directorate of Health Service, the appellate authority for granting recognition for conducting such surgery, followed by permission from the State government.
“There are 1,000 kidney patients who are on dialysis in different facilities across the State. The rate of survival on dialysis is poor compared to kidney transplant. In the last five year, GMC has conducted only 14 transplants,” Dr Mahaldar said.
The chance of living with dialysis for over five years is only 30 percent while with kidney transplant it increases up to 75-80 percent, he said adding that out of the 1000 patients in the State, at least 200 can go for the transplant.
“GMC, which is the only licenced facility has been unable to make kidney transplant a regular scheduled surgery and hence remains dependent on visiting honorary surgeons from Mumbai,” Dr Mahaldar stated.
Interestingly, though the state-run facility has not been conducting the transplants, applications by private hospitals, including Manipal Hospital, are pending with the Directorate of Health Services for the last five months.
Sources at the Manipal Hospital confirm that following their application, the Health Department had conducted inspections to check the kind of instruments and other facilities available for conducting the same. Margao-based former Apollo Hospital was another hospital, whose request was never considered.
While Director of Health Services, Sanjay Dalvi, remained unavailable for comments, sources confirmed that the file is pending.
