Varsity gives hope to kidney patients after conducting 26th operation

A growing list of local kidney transfer operations has given hope to thousands of Kenyans who cannot afford similar services abroad.

Doctors at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) achieved yet another milestone in the treatment of chronic renal disorders by successfully conducting their 26th kidney transplant.

MTRH Chief Executive Officer Wilson Aruasa  said the operation, conducted by a team of local doctors on a 67-year-old kidney patient, proved that patients in Kenya did not have to go abroad to get new kidneys.

The kidney was donated by the patient's 28-year-old son.

Dr. Aruasa called on kidney patients in Kenya to consider local treatment before deciding to go abroad, saying focus would now shift to making more successful transplants.

"The travel flow to India, South Africa or the US for kidney transplants should now reduce because it is official that successful operations can be offered here," he said.

Even better, Aruasa announced, the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) will cover the cost of consultation, dialysis and transplant from this year.

 LOCAL SURGEONS

Boniface Ganda, the team leader of the MTRH kidney transplant panel and head of renal services at the hospital, said Kenyan doctors were ready to step in and offer relief for thousands of people living with chronic kidney disorders.

"We are up to the task after nine years of engagement with visiting doctors and professors from the Netherlands and South Africa under the Doctor to Doctor Foundation," he said.

The hospital however noted low public confidence in local operations, saying only one kidney patient had turned up for the procedure.

"The public response has not been excellent. We hoped to do at least four operations in this quarter but we had only one patient," said Dr Ganda.

Another doctor in the team - Philip Cheptinga - praised the transplant, saying it was a milestone for children with chronic kidney disorders.

"It is difficult to facilitate dialysis for children and we have had to rely on imports from South Africa or the US. It is important when children can get a transplant in time," he said.

Piet ter Wee, the head of department of nephrology at VU University in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, congratulated the Kenyan team.

The professor said the knowledge and skills shared and exchanged between Kenya's medical specialists and visiting doctors was beginning to bear fruit.

He added that MTRH needed to make transplants a routine.

"In the Netherlands currently, we do at least one transplant a week. With increased facilitation and personnel, Kenya can soon be there," he said.