Port Moresby General Hospital (POMGH) will provide kidney transplant services starting next year.
This was announced during a visit of a kidney specialist from the Birmingham Hospital in the United Kingdom.
However, this will also depend on how fast policies can be drafted and approved for the establishment of this new Kidney Transplant service.
PMGH and the PNG Kidney Foundation (PNGKF) are currently using dialysis to treat kidney patients.
Patients visit a dialysis center every three to four weeks where waste products and excess fluid from the blood are removed. It often involves diverting blood to a machine to be cleaned.
However, this will be a story of the past when the kidney transplant facility is established at POMGEN in partnership with the PNGKF, the PNG government and the Birmingham Transplant hospital in UK.
According to the founder of PNGKF Sir Martin Poh, kidney transplant is fast, easy and convenient for patients as it results in fast recovery, providing longer lifespan to kidney patients.
“The transplant will ease the patients’ time, patients will have a longer lifespan because with the current new technology of medications I see that there are norms radiation of the kidney when they do the transplant,” he said
Professor Nick Inston, Surgeon of Birmingham hospital who will assist with the expertise for the transplant service further explained the advantages of a transplant.
“Transplantation is another form of replacement theory, not every patient can have a transplant, some patients will need dialysis but those who have the transplant it offers a lot more freedom and longer better healthier lives,” he said.
“We are working together with PMGH, kidney foundation, and the government to be able to get a sustainable service and that is something we hope to achieved next year,” Inston added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of the National Health Board, Dr Mathias Sapuri said the important part of the process now is to look at policy and legislations.
“Will work on the policy quickly and also the legislative component so that we can try as much as possible to push this through quickly before we have the next process of having the next transplant available next year,” Sapuri said.
As a first step in setting up this transplant facility, National Fisheries Authority donated K10 million to support this cause.