News / Health
Zimbabwe considering re-introduction of kidney transplants
12 Jul 2013 at 16:55hrs | Views
ZIMBABWE is considering re-introducing kidney transplants as a solution to dialysis, a lifetime process, whose costs are beyond the reach of many, a senior Government official has said.
Chitungwiza Central Hospital chief executive officer Dr Obadiah Moyo who is also chairperson of the Zimbabwe Kidney Foundation Renal Services said initial costs for kidney transplants could be higher than those for dialysis sessions but in the long term it was much cheaper.
Dr Moyo was speaking after a public lecture by visiting Indian kidney expert Dr Harsha Jauhari in Harare last week on ethical considerations to organ transplantation.
"Kidney transplantation is the solution to treatment of people with renal failure considering the prohibitive costs associated with dialysis," said Dr Moyo.
"At the moment we are only assisting a fraction of people in need of treatment as the majority die without accessing services because of high costs."
Haemodialysis is the process of removing waste from the body by a machine, which acts as artificial kidneys.
This process costs up to US$150 at some Government institutions while others are charging as low as US$50 a session.
Government has also procured dialysis machines for Harare and Mpilo hospitals to enable patients who cannot afford the high costs to get the same treatment for free. A person with renal failure requires three dialysis sessions a week.
Dr Moyo said everything needed for transplants was available save for the professionals to do the surgery.
He said they were in the process of identifying a cadre to go for specialised training of kidney transplants before it is re-introduced in the country.
The procedure was once done several years ago but was stopped after a kidney recipient died. The visiting Indian kidney specialist urged the country to make ethical considerations before starting transplants.
Some of the issues under consideration include ownership of one's body either it belongs to an individual, a family or the state.
"Ethics are important in organ transplantation because the donor (source of organs) is normal and undergoes a surgery he does not need," Dr Jauhari said.
Some participants at the public lecture attributed the slow pace of organ transplants in Zimbabwe to cultural norms and values.
Zimbabwe is one of the countries which believe that once a person has died his or her body should not be tampered with, hence closing doors to potential donors upon death.
Chitungwiza Central Hospital chief executive officer Dr Obadiah Moyo who is also chairperson of the Zimbabwe Kidney Foundation Renal Services said initial costs for kidney transplants could be higher than those for dialysis sessions but in the long term it was much cheaper.
Dr Moyo was speaking after a public lecture by visiting Indian kidney expert Dr Harsha Jauhari in Harare last week on ethical considerations to organ transplantation.
"Kidney transplantation is the solution to treatment of people with renal failure considering the prohibitive costs associated with dialysis," said Dr Moyo.
"At the moment we are only assisting a fraction of people in need of treatment as the majority die without accessing services because of high costs."
Haemodialysis is the process of removing waste from the body by a machine, which acts as artificial kidneys.
This process costs up to US$150 at some Government institutions while others are charging as low as US$50 a session.
Dr Moyo said everything needed for transplants was available save for the professionals to do the surgery.
He said they were in the process of identifying a cadre to go for specialised training of kidney transplants before it is re-introduced in the country.
The procedure was once done several years ago but was stopped after a kidney recipient died. The visiting Indian kidney specialist urged the country to make ethical considerations before starting transplants.
Some of the issues under consideration include ownership of one's body either it belongs to an individual, a family or the state.
"Ethics are important in organ transplantation because the donor (source of organs) is normal and undergoes a surgery he does not need," Dr Jauhari said.
Some participants at the public lecture attributed the slow pace of organ transplants in Zimbabwe to cultural norms and values.
Zimbabwe is one of the countries which believe that once a person has died his or her body should not be tampered with, hence closing doors to potential donors upon death.
Source - herald
